Velocity Shift
by tempest-races
Summary: There are moments in everyone's life that define who they are. In a world of glitz and glamour clashing with dark alleys and shady characters, these moments either make or break you. Or sometimes they make you shift your reality.
1. Disclaimercopywrite

Black and blue

Hello anyone reading this. Waves I am Tempest-Races, or Tempest. I only write The Fast and The Furious fan fiction. Well, until now that is. This is my first ever fan fiction not based around TFATF. Yeah, so I am a mechanic and a amateur street racer so that does tend to colour my writing. Yeah, and I'm Canadian so some of my words are spelled the 'british' way since that's how I learned in school and I don't intend to change because some people learned to spell colour without the u, LOL.

I hope this story is good. Anyway, a little background info. I was writing a round robin story with some friends and I invented this character. She was from NYC and a mobster and for some reason it seemed to make sense to make her Matty's sister.

It sorta grew from there that she had history with Taylor and before too long this bit character for that other story had a life of her own. So, I figured I'd write out the story of how she came to reach the point she's at in the round robin. I'm doing my best to keep the Knockaround guys in canon. So yeah, the OFC I've created has some not so Knockaround Guys characteristics but at the beginning of this story she's not really involved in the family business anyway. So if you suspend your disbelief (a request from a good friend of mine when she writes too) I think you might just enjoy this story.

I live for feedback and I love constructive criticism best. I have my own flava when it comes to writing style so please keep that in mind. I have the thickest skin out of anyone you're ever likely to meet. I'm an automotive Technician apprentice so I'm use to people who speak their mind. Being a female in a male trade is an eye opening experience. So please don't try to flame me. It'll only make me laugh. However I do get the difference between flames and concrit. I know when I'm attacked and when my story is picked apart so I can handle all manner of criticism about my story. Don't hold back!

I don't own Knockaround Guys or the characters found in said movie. I have taken the characters out to play and will put them all back in (mostly) the same shape I found them in. I do this for love not money and all I stand to gain from this story is some people telling me the like it or don't. All I'd have to give you if you sued me would be some cars that half work and some fairly cheap tools. So please don't. I can't afford the time off school to go to court right now anyway.

On with the story. Remember to review please and thank you.


	2. What We Want

**Velocity Shift**

–By _Tempest-Races _-

Chapter One – **What We Want**.

"So, that's Benny Chain's place right?"

Matty got that sinking feeling in his stomach. That same old feeling. Yet another job interview going great, until the fact that his only experience in the work world consisted of being the president of various now defunct companies was brought up. Companies that were thinly veiled attempts by his father and Uncle Teddy to give him something to do. Something that didn't involve him being a part of the family business outright, just on the sidelines, doing something almost legitimate for men with no legitimate purpose.

"Yes, that's correct. Yeah, he owns it." Matty fidgeted nervously.

"So, are you related to him?" His interviewer looked just as nervous.

"Yeah, he...He's my father."

"Well that's a pretty close relation..."

Matty fought with the man, but as he figured, it did nothing for him. Like all the others the man interviewing him assumed he was trying to work his way into the company to help his father, one of New York's most notorious Mobsters take it over. Nothing was farther from the truth for Matty. That was just the life he was trying to break away from.

"I'm here for a fucken job." Matty sighed.

"I have nothing for you." The man opened the door to his office. Matty knew he was dismissed and left the room, head hanging, totally unsure what he was going to do about yet another failure.

He drove his black Sedan De Ville home to his family's sprawling mansion in suburban New York and after driving up the horse shoe shaped drive, parked at the front door. He walked straight back to the kitchen through the beautiful home.

"Not another one Matty." Storm Demaret sighed as her older brother violently threw his attaché case down on the counter and threw off his coat.

"Yeah, another one." Matty Demaret opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, tearing the top off and guzzling half of it down in one gulp. He hated the pity in his sister's voice. He sat dejectedly at the breakfast counter in the family kitchen.

"Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Storm walked up behind her brother and started to kneed his shoulders, seeing the tension there and hating to see him putting himself through the day after day torture of trying to get a job outside the family business when he was a Demaret and the whole state knew where he came from, where his background lie. Matty looked up at her over his shoulder and she saw how much the latest rejection had hurt him.

"Because it's all I've ever wanted to do Storm and you know it. All I ever wanted to do with my life was work with ball players, and no matter what I do it's never gonna happen."

"Yeah, well we don't always get what we want." Storm wrapped her arms around her brother's neck from behind him and leaned her chin on his shoulder. "Sometimes we just have to make the most of what we do have an realize that what we want isn't gonna happen."

"You talking about wanting in the business or wanting Taylor Reese to notice you're not a little girl in pigtails anymore?" Matty asked, laughing. "Ouch!" His laugher turned to a cry of pain as his sister slapped him upside his head.

"I don't care what Taylor Reese notices." Storm answered indignantly. "I'm talking about the fact I want in the business and I'll never get a chance because I'm a girl. You don't want in but he'd hand the whole thing to you in a heartbeat if you did."

"No he wouldn't Storm. Hell, I'm Matty Dimes. He'll never forget what Teddy told him about that night when I was 12 with Bobby Boulevard. He's never gonna let me in the business but because of his business I can't get a job in anything else." He turned his earnest eyes to his sister. "Run away with me? Come on, we'll run to a state where no one's ever heard of Benny Chains, where no one ever learned to fear the last name Demaret. Huh? Will you come with me Storm? You can make money racing that crazy car and I'll get a job with a sports team. We can move to LA or Chicago."

"Nope. I like it here. I love Daddy, even if he is hardheaded and stubborn."

"Yeah, and you're his daughter alright." Matty sighed, looking at his much loved younger sister.

"Shut up." Storm laughed softly in his ear, knowing her brother was right.

"Well, I gotta go bring him and Teddy their lunch. God, this is what I'm reduced to. Going to job interviews and bringing my father his sandwich. What a life."

"But you drive a Cadillac!" Storm parroted her father. Matty laughed despite himself.

"Yeah, and I'm about to drive it right down to the store and get the old man his lunch."

"You want me to come with?" Storm asked, standing up away from her brother's back. "He'll go easier on you if I'm around."

"No, you stay here. Taylor's supposed to come by and I know you'll wanna be here to greet him if I'm not back in time."

"I don't know why you insist on thinking I have a crush on your stupid friend Matty." Storm sighed in anger and looked away from her brother's eyes.

"I know you better then you know yourself sis."

"Whatever. You know how you'll catch it from Dad if you're late." Storm watched as Matty got up and turned to leave. "Matty, what are you thinking?" Storm asked as her brother pulled on his coat. She didn't like the look in his eyes one bit.

"I'm gonna ask him to bring me in Storm. There's nothin else I can do. I can't live my whole life runnin his errands and I can't get a job in sports like I went to college for. What else can I do?"

"Matty, it's not you." Storm walked up to her brother and took his face between her hands. "You can't make yourself something your not just because you're discouraged Matty. There's a goodness in you and you can't help it if it's not in you to strong arm people and shoot them in the head." Matty flinched away from her plain speech. "See what I mean? You say you want in because you have nothing else but you can't even think about shooting someone. You can't help that you aren't that man Matty and I wish you wouldn't try."

"Stormianna, I love you but I'm 26 years old. I can't live in my father's house and bring him his lunch for the rest of my life. I need a job."

"I hate it when you call me that!" Storm growled, hating her full name and any mention of it. "I know Matty, and maybe you should move away, someplace where your name won't matter. But I can't go with you. Everything I ever wanted is right here. I'd miss you though. You're the only one who knows how to cheer me up when it all gets me down."

"I'm the only one who knows how to keep you outta trouble when you get in a killing mood you mean?"

Storm laughed. "Yeah, that's it. Well, you better go or you'll be late." She gave her brother a kiss on his cheek and wasn't surprised when he hugged her tight. He was the only one she was soft around. Anyone who was told Storm Demaret hugged and kissed her brother would laugh it off. She played her feelings very close, except when she was alone with Matty. They had a lot of love for each other. Storm figured it came from growing up without a mother and with a father who wasn't overly affectionate with them. She adjusted his tie and pulled his coat around his shoulders. "Take carea you Matty D."

Matty nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I should go. I'll see you later." Matty left the house, Burberry coat billowing out behind him.

Storm couldn't shake the feeling that he was up to something he wasn't telling her about.

As far back as Arabella Stormianna Demaret could remember she'd known what her father and Uncle Teddy did for a living. She knew what they did and she wanted to do it too. None of it bothered her. She was fine with the violence, the drugs, the gambling, all of it. It was in her blood. The Demaret family was one of the 5 original Mob families of New York and Storm was proud to be among them.

Her brother Matty on the other hand was not. Storm blamed her Uncle Teddy for it but she told no one that. She knew without being told that all they would do was laugh at her. Laugh because she was just a female and in their minds she wasn't capable of analytical thought. She'd railed against it since she was 16 years old and she'd continue to fight it till the day she died. She, unlike her brother, didn't have anything else she wanted to do with her life.

Storm didn't think that Matty ever would have had the personality to do what her father did, no matter what, but it hadn't helped that her Uncle Teddy had put Matty in a basement room with an old family friend, put a .38 in his hand and told him to kill the man who'd put his dad in jail. Matty was only 12 when their Uncle Teddy had decided this was a great idea. Matty hadn't been able to do it. He just couldn't. It was true that he'd been a child when it was asked of him, but Storm also knew that if Teddy had done the same thing to her at 12 she'd have put a bullet in Bobby's forehead. And that was the difference between her and Matty. It couldn't be helped. Such was life. The situation had broken Matty inside, watching them cut Bobby's tongue out of his mouth, and knowing they killed him even though they'd said they'd only rough him up a bit. It had taken Storm years to get him to put it mostly behind him. The thought depressed her like nothing else could.

Then with a giggle at her own expense she remembered that Taylor was coming over. Much as she tried to convince Matty otherwise she had a very large sized crush on his friend Taylor Reese. Taylor worked for her father on occasion and ran some gambling rackets of his own. He was big, bad and beautiful in her opinion. Storm had been trying to catch his eye for the longest time but he still looked at her as Matty's annoying little sister. Taylor was just as criminal as she was and she could never figure how he'd become such good friends with her gentle brother. The two really had nothing in common.

On that thought she ran up the stairs to her room and changed into her workout clothes. She was going to go a few rounds with her punching bag for an excuse to answer the door to Taylor in nothing but bike shorts and a sports bra. She couldn't help herself; there was something about him that made her go out of her way to catch his eye. She wasn't that girl, the one who primped and simpered over guys, but something about Taylor made her forget all that. She knew it was a hopeless cause as much as she knew that she was going to show off for him every chance she got until she got what she wanted. If her upbringing had molded anything into her personality it was her outlook that as a Demaret she always got her own way. She changed her clothes, turned on some music and started beating the hell out of her EverLast heavy bag.

"Not earning? You think people stopped fuckin, and bettin, and borrowin this month? What's the matter with you?"

Matty sat on the park bench and took his father's abuse in silence. It was the only way his father seemed to know how to talk to him lately.

"Pop, I got a handle on the low level stuff, keeping the taxis runnin and overseeing the crap games. It's time for me to step up."

"You brought us the sandwiches. What else can you do?"

Matty sighed in frustration. His father would never see him as a man. He'd always be a scared 12 year old in the old man's eyes. His sister was right though, he'd never really enjoy stepping up to the next level either, it'd break him in the end. He just didn't see what else he could do.

But not Storm. If only he could trade places with her he would. If he was a girl he'd have no trouble getting a job outside his family because no one would ever assume a girl was a tough for the old man. And Storm could be the son the old man needed to continue the family name. Giving up on convincing his old man he could handle more responsibility for the time being he walked away.

He got in his car and drove off to find his cousin Chris. As Matty watched Chris ham it up with a few pretty girls he could only smile. His cousin was a notorious ladies man. Always a charmer and in trouble with his old man for it more then Matty was in it with his dad over not being more interested in the business.

They climbed into Matty's Cadillac and started off toward the small airstrip where their good friend Johnny was flying his small Cessna into town. They were going to pick him up and have a night out. After they found the fourth member of their group, the infamous Taylor Reese, who was going to meet them at Matty's house later. Chris continued to bemoan his situation, which mirrored Matty's in subtle ways, in the car.

"But he's still named Scarpa and where does that leave me? With a small piece of a restaurant and all the hassles of his old life."

"We're nothing but errand boys."

Chris could only nod.

Storm heard the phone ring over her music and ran to answer it.

"Demaret residence." She answered, feeling stuck up like she always did when she answered the phone in the manner her father insisted on.

"Storm, is your brother home?" Her father's voice came over the line.

"No Dad, Matty went to bring you some lunch. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothings wrong. Matty was already here but I need to talk to him. I was hoping he'd know where Taylor was. I heard he finally got to collect on Big Variety and I wanted to know why he busted up all the machines in the joint. I guess whatever works if it makes that damn fucker pay up next time." Her father cleared his throat after remembering who he'd just talked to using 'crude' language. He had a dream of turning his daughter into a lady, and one of the ways he tried was to try and protect her from the shadier aspects of her own life.

"Well, sorry Matty's not here. Anything I can do for you dad?"

"No, just tell your brother I'm looking for him if you see him."

"Why don't you just page him?" Storm asked, knowing her brother had a pager for when her dad really did need to talk to him.

"It's not that urgent kid. It's not like you not to know where he's at." Benny 'Chains' Demaret often wondered why his two such different children were so close.

"Well I think he had plans with Chris after he brought your lunch so you know how long he could be."

"Yeah. I'll track him down later. You be home when I get home Storm?"

"Maybe." Storm didn't want to give a solid answer. Her dad could lean toward over protectiveness. Not to mention she had plans later. Plans that did not involve her dad knowing what she was up to. Besides, she knew he'd go to the bar with Teddy at the end of the day and she'd just pretend she'd already been in bed asleep if he asked her about it.

"Alright." Her dad said good bye and hung up.

It was clear to Storm he was preoccupied with something other then her. He'd never have let her off that easy if he wasn't. He'd have wanted to know where she was going and with who she was going out. And she didn't want to tell him. She already knew his opinion on her extracurricular activities. She went back to her workout with a shrug.

She'd just gotten a good sweat going when there was a pounding on the door. She grabbed her towel and raced to the front foyer. Throwing open one side of the double doors, still breathing hard from her punching bag and the run through the huge house, she found Taylor standing on the steps.

"Matty here?" Taylor asked from behind darkly tinted shades. He didn't bother with hello or how are you. Taylor was a man of few words.

"Nope. He said to tell you to wait for him til he gets back." Storm stepped out of the doorway so Taylor could come in.

"Where is he?" Taylor asked, pushing past Storm into the house and giving her a head to toe look behind his glasses. A look she couldn't see. The little brat he'd gotten to know was no more. In her place was a filled out woman who'd lightened her naturally dark hair to a toffee color and looked good with her athletic figure. But she carried more muscle then he liked to see on a woman as a rule. Had a smarter mouth too, for that matter.

"Don't know." Storm called over her shoulder as she headed toward the kitchen, listening to Taylor's footsteps as he followed her through the house. She noticed that Taylor had slid his glasses off his head and into his hoodie pocket on the way through the house to the kitchen.

She grabbed a bottle of water and opened it much as Matty had an hour or so before. She threw back her head and guzzled her water. When she looked at Taylor again he was watching her with a deal more interest then she was use to out of him. She moved around to the island and put her hands flat on the top.

"So, my dad said you smashed up Big Variety pretty good." Storm started to make conversation.

"Word gets around fast." Taylor leaned back on the counter.

"It does when the big boss is your dad, yeah." Storm replied. Taylor grunted his only response.

"Well, what did I interrupt when I got here?" Taylor asked, taking in Storm's glistening skin and exercise gear.

"I was going a few rounds with my punching bag actually." Storm finished her water.

"You box?" Taylor looked surprised, but only mildly. The only emotion Taylor Reese did stronger then mildly was angry. And it took him quite a while to loose his cool then too.

"Yeah, and run, and kickboxing too." Storm leaned on the counter. "What about you?"

"What about me what?"

"What do you do to keep in shape?" Storm gave Taylor a look she was careful to keep only mildly suggestive as she gave his tight white tee shirt a glance.

"I break things." Taylor looked serious.

"I see." Storm answered and turned to leave the room. "You wanna watch some TV till Matty gets back?"

"Well I guess I don't wanna stand alone in the kitchen." Taylor answered and followed her into the den.

"I'm gonna go change. You can pick something to watch." Storm tossed the remote in Taylor's direction.

"You don't have to change on my account." Taylor looked up from the TV screen and caught the remote.

"If my dad came home and caught me 'entertaining' in these clothes he'd shoot me. I'll be right back."

"You expecting him any time soon?" Taylor was not in the mood to play nice to Benny or Teddy, and Teddy went almost everywhere the old man did.

"No, not really." Storm turned back from the door. "I'll be right back." She left the room quickly and headed to her bedroom. After grabbing a quick shower she returned to find Taylor watching a televised base ball game.

Taylor looked up as she entered the room wearing low rise blue jeans and a figure hugging babydoll tee that bore a logo reading 'Vito's Garage: Let us hand torque your nuts' Taylor rose on her entrance, lately remembering she was the boss's daughter and he really should try to be a gentleman around her. He wasn't one, but he figured he should put on an act around her at least. She waved him off with an exasperated look.

"Don't act all proper on my account." Storm glanced at the TV. "You and my brother and watchin Baseball."

"You can pick something else." Taylor tossed the remote control at Storm out of no where and she caught it without missing a beat.

"I don't mind if you're already watching this." Storm offered, fighting a giggle at her offering to let someone else have their own way in her house. Taylor was the only one that wouldn't have heard 'oh my god I'm not watching another few hours of that depressing game' as soon as she walked into the room.

"I don't care either way." Taylor felt the need to put some distance between them. Even talking nicely about TV had made him feel things were a little too cozy. "So when was your brother getting home?"

"All he told me was he had to go get Chris and Marbles first and he couldn't pick them up till after he spoke to Teddy and Dad." Storm looked upset at the mention of her brother talking to her father.

"What's wrong with Matty talking to his father?" Taylor gave Storm an unreadable glance.

"He..." Storm trailed off, realizing she didn't really know Taylor that well. Did she really want to be sharing her secret worries with him? She knew by logic that Taylor had to be able to keep a secret. But would he keep hers? And from Matty at that.

"He what?" Taylor prompted her to continue.

"He was going to ask Dad to let him step up to the next level." Storm sighed. She watched with interest as Taylor rubbed his mostly bald head in seeming worry. He looked up to see that worry mirrored in Storm's gaze.

"I'll try to talk him outta it." Taylor assured Storm gruffly, knowing just as well as Storm did that Matty didn't belong.

"No, you can't." Storm was quick to protest Taylor's plan.

"Why not?" Taylor looked shocked at being told he 'couldn't do' something by a girl.

"Because he'll know we talked about him and it'll hurt his feelings." Storm retorted, picking up on Taylor's displeasure at her telling him what to do. "Besides that, Dad'll never take him anyway."

Storm started to pace around the room. When she paced close enough to him Taylor stuck out a foot and tripped her. He was sick of watching her go round and round the room. But he couldn't let her fall on her face so he caught her as she fell.

"You need to sit down and stop worrying." Taylor told the girl he still held against his big chest.

"That was dirty Taylor Reese." Storm told him, wide green gaze meeting his black one. Storm was very aware of being held against the chest she'd fantasized about so many times but she kept her outward appearances cool.

"You were makin me dizzy." Taylor growled, fighting his urge to lean closer to her face, maybe even see if she could use her mouth to kiss as well as she could use it to talk smart. He leaned toward her and her lips parted. He stopped right before he would have made contact. This was his best friend's sister and the daughter of his boss. What was he thinking? He couldn't make out with her in her father's house. Hell, he shouldn't have anything to do with her anywhere. She was looking up at him like she very much wanted him to continue, not stop. "Storm?"

"Yeah?" She breathed, wondering what was coming.

"I'm goin out to have a few drinks with your brother tonight but he's got plans after. Can I take you out?" Where the hell had that come from? He couldn't date Matty's sister!

"Um." Storm fought a brain fog at having finally been asked out by Taylor. She realized he was starting to look like he expected her to say no and was none too happy about her rejection. "I'd love to but I have plans already. You could join me if you wanted."

"What kind of plans?" Taylor growled, wondering if they involved other men.

"Well, Friday's are my day to um...Well...I take my car for a drive on Friday nights. If I don't show up at our meeting place by 12 my friends'll get worried. But if you wanna come that'd be cool."

"Ok." Taylor agreed, telling himself that he was only keeping her out of trouble. It was clear from her expression that she knew her father and brother would not approve of whatever it was she had in mind tonight. "Should I meet you somewhere or what?"

"I'll pick you up. Around 11:30 ok?" Storm looked up with the question in her eyes. Would he let her pick him up? Would he get into a car she was driving?

"Ok, pick me up at your father's bar. I'll be there with Chris and Matty." Taylor set her free from his arms and she went with a little pout.

"Sure." She answered, taking a step back for some much needed breathing room.

Just as the two had sat down in separate areas of the couch and picked some cable movie to watch Matty came into the house, Chris and Marbles in tow. Storm stood up to greet her brother, cousin and their friend.

"How's my favorite cousin?" She asked as she gave Chris a quick hug.

"Good. How's my most beautiful cousin?" Chris gave Storm a cheeky smile.

"You can't pick me up Chris; it'd be against several moral and state laws." Storm laughed.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that part." Chris gave Storm a quick peck on her cheek and shot Matty a look. A look that made Matty check out his sister's shirt.

"Storm, where do you get those shirts?" Matty huffed. Even if his sister was 22 he hated to see her do anything to make guys look at her like they wanted her. She was his little sister and he wanted her to stay the precocious little girl in pig tails forever.

"What? There's nothing wrong with it. It's a legit business in Queens and it's a real thing. Only hand torqued nuts have the proper amount of pressure on them. It just makes Vito's a good garage." Storm laughed at the look in her brother's eyes.

"Well, don't let dad catch you wearin that." Matty admonished, knowing his father's reaction would be worse then his had been. He turned to his friend, who was still seated on the couch. "Taylor, you ready?"

Taylor stood up.

"Yeah, let's go." He joined his three friends in the door of the living room. Storm followed them to the front door, watching as Taylor swaggered out last.

"Be ready. I can't be late!" She called softly, knowing instinctively that Taylor wouldn't want Matty to know about their plans. Taylor gave her an almost dirty look as he walked away, claiming the front seat of the Caddy for himself.


	3. Tiger by the Tail

* * *

AN: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews folks! Here is chapter 2 for you to all enjoy, or at least I hope so. BTW, her first name is actually Arabella which is a good, strong, traditional Italian name. You'll find out later how she came to have her middle name as Stormianna, and I do know someone whose middle name is Storm. It's a guy, but his mom really did name him Storm so it's not like it's not a real name. Anyway, yeah, she could have had a more traditional name I guess, but it still would have been an Italian name, and many of them are not 'normal' in our words. Her family is too old school to name her American names. Anyways, on with the show.

* * *

**Velocity Shift**

By - _Tempest Races_

Chapter 2 – **Tiger by the Tail**

Matty was seated with Taylor, Marbles and Chris in his father's good old boys club later that night, each of them nursing a drink. They were just catching up on old times. While Matty got to see a fair amount of his cousin and Taylor, none of them got to see much of Marbles and they didn't get too many opportunities to all get together. Out of the blue Taylor looked right at Matty and just stared at him for a solid minute. Matty shrugged, wondering what Taylor was thinking. Taylor decided to fill him in.

"I just don't know what you're thinkin Matty." Taylor growled. "You know you don't belong in the old man's shadow. Hell, your sister belongs more then you ever will. You tried and it didn't work out. Pick something else to do." Taylor might have let Storm think the issue was closed but there was no way he was going to watch his best friend ruin himself over a life of crime.

"You think I haven't been trying to get a 'real' job Taylor? Shit, over 14 job interviews in a year. I can't hide where I got all my experience from and I'm too damn old to hand out resumes with no previous jobs on them." Matty sighed and looked Taylor in his eyes. "You been talkin to Storm or somethin? You sound just like her." Matty watched with interest as Taylor's gaze moved away from his own. _Interesting;_ _He almost looks guilty_, Matty mused.

"I talked to her a bit when I was waitin on you but not about this. I just don't think it's a good idea for you to step up Matty. Take Storm's advice and move outta here." Chris seemed to second Taylor's opinion but Marbles didn't look as sure.

"My whole life's here. I won't go without Storm and she won't leave New York."

"Storm's a big girl. I think she'd be ok if you got a job outta state. Brothers and sisters do that all the time, live in different places." Taylor sighed, feeling like he was talking to a 12 year old.

"I've been lookin out for my sister a lotta years Taylor and I'm not gonna just take off on her now." Matty looked around at the bar full of his father's cronies. It hurt that Taylor was right, that Storm belonged in the crowd more then he did. Ok, so he didn't want in on the life, he had still been born into it. What was wrong with him? He was still Benny Chain's child, but for some reason he couldn't follow in the old man's footsteps. But yet his sister, were she a boy, would already be running the scene, she'd be the center of attention.

Taylor chuckled.

"You sure you been lookin out for her? Sure it doesn't happen the other way around?"

Chris and Marbles laughed at Matty's expense. Matty gave them all a dirty look.

"Storm might think she's the toughest thing goin but she's not. I mean, she sure is tough, and street smart, but her attitude that she can take on the whole world with no help tends to get her in over her head. I've had to bail her out of past situations that she thought were manageable just so she wouldn't do something stupid."

"Storm, do something stupid? Like what?" Marbles asked, leaning forward with rapt interest. He'd always been a little more then fond of Matty's sister but he kept it to himself. He and Storm were almost the same age and they'd started out as good friends in the private school that all the children of New York's notorious went to. He knew that while his feelings had grown for her, her's had not reciprocated for him. But one thing he knew about Storm by virtue of having spent so much time with her was the girl was normally coldly calculating. She didn't make mistakes.

"You know Storm, just guys runnin game and her takin exception to it. She can handle herself too well. This one guy called her baby or sweet cheeks or somethin and slapped her ass. Rude? For sure. Stupid thing to do to Benny Chain's daughter, Storm's temper or not? Hell yeah. But _that_ serious a deal? Naw. Before anyone knew what had happened or what she was planning, Storm had a 9mm Glock pressed against the guy's temple. In public no less, she did it in the middle of a crowded club. She'd as soona shot him as look at him. I had to get her to put the gun away and get her outta there before she did something she couldn't take back."

Matty couldn't explain why he felt the need to keep, in his words, taking care of his sister but he did. Her temper was legendary, handed down to her from her father. You didn't piss off Benny Chains and the same could be said of Storm Demaret. But the world they lived in was not the one their great grandfather had ruled in the 40's. Mobsters did not have the carte blanche life they once did. The world didn't scramble to open doors for them anymore, didn't hand them everything they wanted. Hell, look at how Matty himself was fairing with getting a job. People weren't as scared to say no anymore. They had to share turf with the Russians now. It was a different world.

The police were not as easy to buy off anymore. There'd been one too many crackdowns on police corruption and the cops the Demaret's and the other 4 big families had owned were slowly being caught one by one. Matty was worried that one day his sister would do something that no one, not even their father could cover up for her. It was the one thing Matty could pick out that made her unsuitable for their father's job. She didn't have her father's ability to control her rage. Benny could make a man do what he wanted with one cold look, and then deal with the problem in private. Storm had a shoot first ask later approach that was too flashy for their life.

"Girl's a firecracker." Chris laughed, trying to lighten the suddenly somber mood. "Makes me wish she wasn't my first cousin."

"Christ Chris that's my damn sister you're talking about!" Matty groaned and slapped his cousin on the back of his head.

"I know man but I'm not dead, or blind."

"She's got a smart mouth and a bad attitude." Taylor grumbled and sat back in the booth. "But I think if you wanted to move out west and get a job in sports she'd find a way to take care of herself." Taylor knew he was trying to push Matty into moving but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to see him hurt or dead, and in Taylor's opinion those were the only two possible results of Matty following in his father's footsteps. He didn't have the nerve to do what had to be done. In Benny's world if you hesitated you were dead. It took split second reaction times and an ability to go on your gut instinct to make it in their life and Taylor just didn't see the cutthroat tendencies in Matty. "I'll keep an eye on her for you if you go."

"I will not go without my sister. End of story, end of discussion." Matty growled and sat back in his seat also.

"And none of this explains how I'm gonna get my shot." Marbles grinned. "I need a hookup Matty."

"You shoulda asked Storm. She's the old man's favorite anyway, not me." Matty sighed.

"Yeah, but Benny sees her as Daddy's little girl. I doubt he'd appreciate her asking him to give me a job. He'd just be pissed at me for bringing her into the situation in any circumstances."

"You're right. You know, I almost wish he would take her in, let her step up." Matty mused. His friends gave he shocked looks. He continued. "If it got out that Benny was bringing his daughter in then it could get out his son was out all together. Storm wants it more then anything and she could learn to be good at it. Everyone thinks that I'm working for the old man when I'm not and I don't have much of a head for the business anyway."

"He'll never take her on Matty. Don't be stupid." Taylor shot down the thought. "And well he shouldn't. She's got no place in this world. It's no place for a woman. Sure she talks a good game, and she plays a good game too and it all looks impressive. But when it comes down to it she's not strong enough and not mentally capable of handling the life."

"Don't let her hear you say that." Chris thought of the fight that would be occurring if Storm had heard Taylor put down the female sex, and Storm in particular in that manner. She didn't tend to observe the traditional female and male roles and Chris knew she'd think nothing of going toe to toe with Taylor. The thing he didn't know was if Taylor would let her run her game, or smack her down a few, either literally or figuratively.

"I think Stormianna could surprise you and most of the guys who think like you." Matty contradicted Taylor immediately. "I'm not saying I really want her in because I don't want to think of her getting hurt or going to prison, but don't kid yourself Taylor. Woman or no, Storm has what it takes. But Dad likely never will see it just because of what you said. She should already be married to a nice Italian boy." Matty mocked his father. "A few kids'll settle her down. I should find her someone from the old country to marry. Someone who can control her, keep her occupied."

"She still drive around in that crazy ass car?" Marbles asked, remembering Storm's favorite pastime. Namely her imported car and tuning it for extreme speeds.

"Yeah, damn thing has a name. It's like her boyfriend or somthin." Matty grinned, thinking about his sister and how much she loved her 'crazy ass car'. "Dad hates the thing because he caught her racin it downtown a few months ago. I still don't know how she got the money to buy it and I don't know if I wanna know. The old man swears up and down that he didn't give it to her. He doesn't understand why her Cadillac hasn't moved since she got it."

"Crazy ass car? Racin in the streets?" Taylor looked at Matty. "Your sister is one of those idiot kids who set up races in the streets?"

"Yeah. She's pretty good at it from what I understand. Dad hates it though. Storm doesn't have a lot of hobbies and we can't make her give this one up. Of course no one tells Storm anything if she doesn't want to hear it anyway."

"You and your dad let that girl get away with too much." Taylor shared his opinion and started to regret his rash decision to go with Storm. He had no doubt her meeting to 'go for a drive' would turn into one of these organized street races Matty had just said she participated in.

Taylor had no problem with driving fast when the situation called for it. He just didn't think a person should go out and do it on purpose for the sole reason of driving fast. He preferred a vehicle that would keep him safe in an accident and damn the people in the other cars. His van had seen him through a lot of situations and he didn't care too much about how fast it could go as long as it started and had a place to hide his crowbar and gun.

"She's sneaky about it. Hard to stop her under the best circumstances, let alone when you have no idea what she's up to." Matty laughed. He loved his sister's confidence and ability to do what she wanted; no matter who thought she couldn't or shouldn't do it. But as much as he loved that about her he worried about how much trouble it could get her into too.

There was a general noise around the door to the bar and the four guys looked up to watch Teddy walk into the club. People went right over to greet him. After saying hello to several people he knew he went and sat down with Matty and his friends. They talked a while. Teddy shook Taylor's hand. Teddy went over to the bar and slapped some backs. A few of the men made motions like they were on the phone and laughed in Matty's direction.

"That's all I'll ever be to those guys you know? Matty Dimes, Matty Phone calls, that's all I'll ever be." Matty looked very sad. He didn't care about working with his dad or not at that moment. He just wanted some respect for once. To be treated like an adult instead of a scared little boy.

"Never mind those guys." Taylor reassured Matty, as his uncle motioned him from the bar subtly.

"'Scuse me. I'll see ya later." Matty told his friends and walked over to his uncle.

"Teddy Deserve. That guy gets kissed more then the mezuzah." Taylor chuckled, talking to Chris and Marbles.

"Someday you'll be walking in here with Teddy." Chris told Taylor, almost sounding envious. His old man's legal troubles had put a period to their time in the world of organized crime. Chris knew if his father got caught one more time it was life in jail for him, but the life of running a restaurant didn't really appeal.

"No. He'll use me when it suits him and he knows I'll do the work. But my mother's a Jew and you know what that means to them." Taylor made a dismissive gesture and took a drink.

He knew he'd never be good enough for Benny and Teddy to promote higher then the errand boy and general tough guy he was to them right now. To become a made man, a wise guy, a real player in the game you had to be able to trace your heritage back to the old country for five generations. You had to show you were of pure Italian blood. Sicilian blood. Taylor knew quite well he wasn't and nothing could change that. Hell, he had no desire to. He was proud of his heritage. But it meant that he'd never run on a crew, run a crew. He'd always be on the outside, with guys like Matty or Chris who liked him being his line to the inside. Always an employee, never a boss.

But he wouldn't change his heritage for anything. He was so proud of it he'd gotten a Star of David tattoo on his left bicep. A move that, according to his own religious beliefs was forbidden. While it was only a myth it would keep him out of a Jewish burial it was true to be buried with it in a Jewish cemetery they would all assume he repented for defiling his body the way he had. He never would. He wasn't sorry he was so proud of where he'd come from and if he ended up buried in the section of the cemetery with the other people who'd refused to repent then so be it. He didn't plan on going there for a long time anyway. His heritage was both his blessing and his curse. He was who he was, and he wouldn't change that. But it would have been nice to know that someday he could be higher in the organization then hired tough guy. And it was because of his Jewish heritage that Taylor knew his boss's wouldn't see him as good enough for his date tonight.

Taylor knew exactly what Benny and Teddy for that matter, would have to say about him taking Storm out too. They'd hate it. They would expect her to date a boy who could trace his heritage back as far as she could. For all the modern ideas and changes the years had made to the sociological structure of the mob a lot of their ideas were distinctly old fashioned. He wondered if that wasn't what was behind his desire to take her out more then any real interest in her.

He meant what he told Matty and the other guys. He did find her too outspoken and spoiled. She was raised in privilege, with every opportunity and she did sometimes act like the spoiled child she was. She could also be fun and she was pretty in a dark, very fit sort of way. He figured he'd know if they had anything in common after she picked him up in a few minutes. On that thought Taylor stood up. All of a sudden he didn't want Storm's family to know they were going out together. It was going to be more of a headache then he wanted to face. The sly glances and smirking smiles from Chris and Marbles and the anger from Teddy, not to mention he wasn't sure what to expect from Matty. One thing he knew was Matty would never in his life think Taylor wasn't good enough to date his sister. On that front Matty would give his whole hearted blessing. However Taylor didn't have a great track record for the longevity or faithfulness of his relationships and Matty knew all about it. Taylor knew Matty's concern would stem from a desire to protect his sister from hurt, not from any idea's she was too far above Taylor. So Taylor thought it would be best if he met Storm out front, away from the eyes of their associates.

Even as he started to slide out of the booth the front door of the club opened and Storm stepped in. He watched her pause just inside the door, noted her self-assured air. She didn't belong in the bar; it was a club for the men of her father's world to wind down and talk shop and she'd never been accepted into that world or the society. But just because of how she carried herself, how she walked in like _she_ owned the place, not her father, no one would dare say anything to her about not belonging. She got away with so much just based on her 'I'm a Demaret and Benny Chains is my father so bow before me' attitude. It was that exact attitude that made her both so infuriating to him and so very intriguing. Being with her was like catching a tiger by the tail. The only question in this case was would he be mauled by her, or could he make the cat purr?

Storm looked around the smoky room, noting her father's friends and her Uncle Teddy leading her brother out the back door. _Not good_, she thought. She couldn't think of a single thing that her brother and uncle would need to talk about outside other then Matty's involvement with one of Teddy's schemes. Her green gaze slid slowly around the room as she walked farther into it, being stopped here and there along the way as people said hello to her and told her to carry their well wishes to her father. She replied to them all with courtesy but tried to keep moving. She was scanning for Taylor.

Taylor watched her walk into the better lit section of the bar, watched her tuck a chunk of hair behind her ear as she straightened her black hooded sweatshirt across her shoulders and twitched her pants to fall over the top of one of her boots. She didn't look like she was dressed for a night out, she looked ready to go for a jog or home to bed. Another of her father's friends stopped her to chat. She talked for a brief moment before moving farther into the room. Her eyes finally stopped on her cousin and Taylor. She walked their way with purpose. Taylor felt that piercing gaze all the way to his toes. How did she look at him like she knew all his sins in one glance?

"Hey boys. How's it goin?" Storm stood looking at the three of them with her hands on her hips.

"You not worried about what your dad would say if he caught you in here?" Chris asked, smiling. He knew just what Taylor did. She didn't belong and her dad wouldn't be happy with her for her presence. But her dad was no where to be found at this moment. Not to mention that Matty seemed to have been born with his own fear of his father plus Storm's share too. No one had ever gotten away with talking to Benny the way Storm could. And she never had the slightest qualm about it either.

"Naw, he wouldn't be happy 'bout it but he'd deal." Storm returned his smile. "He gave up on making me act like a lady a long time ago."

"You look like a frumpy old lady in that getup." Marbles laughed at his childhood pal. Storm struck a pose.

"You don't think I look hot? I thought this baggy sweater did great things for my figure!"

"Think again." Marbles laughed, playing along.

"I got somethin for later, don't worry 'bout it. I do know better then to show up in here in an outfit that'll send them all runnin to my dad goin 'You daughter was at Pizzo's last night and dressed like a streetwalka at that!' These guys grew up in an era where girls dressed way different then they do today. You don't grow up in Benny's house without learnin a few things about getting out of the house in one piece. You think Matty's bad about my outfits!" Storm shook her head and sat down on a chair which she turned backwards and straddled. "You boys got plans tonight?" Storm was starting to have doubts about taking Taylor around her friends. He wouldn't like them and he wouldn't fit in. She was half hoping he would have decided to stay with the boys.

"Not really. Me'n Chris thought we might head down around that club Overdrive later. What about you Taylor?" Marbles looked at the bigger man.

"I got stuff to do." Taylor said in his normal growl.

"Where's Matty?" Storm asked, trying to pump them for information on why her brother went with Teddy without them knowing it.

"He left with Teddy." Chris replied. Storm internalized her groan. She wanted to shout that she knew that much, she really needed to know what Teddy had wanted.

"With Teddy? What did Teddy want with Matty?" She asked, forcing a confused look to cloud her eyes.

"You know Teddy, he didn't really let us in on anything, just called Matty out with him." Chris never knew what to believe about his cousin. She was good at play acting and hiding her true thoughts. He figured her being confused was one of those acts but he couldn't prove it so he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Well, I just stopped in to see what you boys were up to. I really should head out. Catch you all later." Storm stood up and headed to the door. Taylor stood up and looked at the two men still seated at the table.

"I should be goin too." Taylor slid out of the booth.

"Yeah. I bet you should be goin." Chris smirked. "Ya lucky bastard. She ain't your cousin."

"I got my own shit to take care of. This ain't got nothin to do with her." Taylor protested and turned to walk away. He sauntered out of the bar.

"You buy that Taylor, our Taylor, isn't chasin Storm Demaret outta here like a dog after a bitch?" Chris asked, a sly smirk on his face.

"He does say she drives him nuts." Marbles told Chris as they watched Taylor walk out of the bar.

"That's what he says, but that's not what his eyes say when he looks at her." Chris was still smirking. "And I don't imagine Matty's gonna like it much. That girl could chew up half the guys in New York and Matty still looks out for her like she's a little girl in Catholic school that he has to protect from all the lecherous men in the world."

"Matty's figured that she had a crush on Taylor for forever. I doubt he'll be surprised." Marbles looked at Chris thoughtfully. "How are they ever gonna get along if Storm thinks she should be stepping into her father's place and Taylor thinks she should just accept that her place as a woman is in the home and kitchen and forget all about where her father's money comes from?"

"I don't think Taylor's in any relationship for the long haul Marbles. He'll never stick around long enough for it to matter."

"How's he gonna just sleep with Matty's sister and then never call her? Don't you think she'd tell Matty? And Taylor is Matty's best friend. I don't think Taylor will do anything that will come between his friendship with Matty. And doin the old hump'n dump to Matty's little sister would end that friendship. And if Matty told his dad, it would likely end Taylor's life. I mean, I bet both Benny and Teddy think their little Storm is New York's oldest virgin."

"I don't think this thing with her and Taylor will ever get that far." Chris brushed off Marble's worries. "They'll realize they have nothing in common and break it off long before it ever goes that far."

"I hope so. I don't want to see the end of our crew come about because Taylor couldn't keep it in his pants over Matty's sister."

Marbles and Chris left to go to the club they'd talked about earlier to finish out thier evening.


	4. Seeing through Her

**Velocity Shift**

By – _TempestRaces_

Chapter 3 – Seeing Through Her

Taylor looked up and down the street Pizzo's was situated on looking for Storm. He had no idea what her car looked like unless she was driving her big black Cadillac. He only knew what that looked like because Matty drove its twin. But if his assumptions were correct about what the evening would see them doing, she was not driving her Caddy.

Storm saw him looking around and rolled down her window.

"You comin?" She called from the driver's seat. Taylor walked up to the car and got in.

"Why is the driver's seat on the right hand side of this thing?" He growled, not happy with his reversed position or the fact that he wasn't the one behind the wheel.

"Because it's imported from Japan." Storm answered, smiling. She couldn't be more proud of her car or its origins. If it was just a regular old Nissan she likely wouldn't have wanted it after all.

"What's wrong with cars from the USA?"

"Nothin. I just wanted this one. It's unique and faster then lightening. You ok?" Storm noted with humor the way her driving was making Taylor hold onto the door handle.

"Fine." Taylor answered, sounding gruff. "You don't believe in gettin dressed up when you're headed out?" Taylor finally got around to commenting on her outfit.

"I do, I just also believe in not having my father tell me to go change at my age." With that Storm took her hands off the wheel and using her knees to steer caught the hem of her sweater in her hands and pulled it off over her head, revealing a black tube top with detached sleeves that ran from her wrists to upper arms.

Taylor still didn't see how such a fancy shirt went with tear away track pants. She revealed the mystery for him when she put one hand back on the wheel and used the other to tear the front section of the pants away from the back, revealing figure hugging black hipster pants with flared legs and about 6 inches of her flat stomach. Taylor knew why she would have worried about getting out of her house. If her dad had seen her she wouldn't have.

"Better?" She asked with a cheeky grin as she put her hands back on the wheel and downshifted, her feet passing each other as the clutch came up and the gas went down, the car speeding up.

"Where we going?" Taylor asked instead of answering her question.

"Business district." Storm answered and signaled, taking an off ramp. She knew full well he just didn't want to have to give her a compliment on her outfit. He wasn't that kind of guy. She knew if she ended up dating him in any sense she'd never be able to expect flowery compliments and romantic gifts out of him. He was too much like her, too practical and good at hiding his feelings close to his heart. What he didn't remember was she'd seen him with Matty. He was capable of emotions, he just didn't like to show them. It was clear he had a lot of love for her brother. He took care of Matty like the two of them were brothers not just friends. He was even sometimes physically affectionate with Matty, giving him quick hugs and slaps on the back. But they'd been friends a lot of years and she hoped that one day Taylor would grow that comfortable with her.

"That where you meet these friends of yours? Friends you don't want Matty or your dad to know about?" Taylor peeked at Storm out of the corner of his eye, gauging her reaction to his neat sidestep around answering her question. He knew he should have told her she looked good but he wasn't that kind of man. He'd never been good at playing the nice guy and he wasn't going to start being good at it over some broad.

"I meet friends there, among other things." Storm gave Taylor a look that clearly told him she didn't appreciate his attitude one bit. "And my brother and father don't dictate who I roll with. I'm grown up Taylor Reese, and if you don't see that it might be best for you to shove off now." Storm growled the last bit out, getting irate with Taylor's I'm-here-to-keep-you-outta-trouble attitude.

The way he talked like he was along to supervise not be with her was getting on her nerves. Sure, her father wasn't happy when he caught her racing, and her brother did tend to hate her doing anything that might hurt her but she was an adult, not a child and she wouldn't put up with Taylor trying to treat her like she needed a keeper around. Taylor simply avoided the issue by ignoring her ultimatum.

"You plannin on racin this car tonight Storm?"

"If someone wants to make it worth my while." Storm answered, her tone flat. It was becoming more then clear that Taylor was in fact along to make her life hard. He didn't approve and he thought he could stop her. "Listen Taylor, if you're here to try and stop me or because you think I need you along to save me from myself I may as well let you out now. This is part of who I am, and I'm old enough to make that decision for myself. You're not my dad, or my brother and I don't need you acting like them, trying to make up my mind for me, aiight."

In Taylor's mind the girl didn't know her own mind well enough to know what was good for her. She had no business racing her car in the streets. She wasn't some common criminal, she was Benny Chains daughter. Didn't she know what would happen to her if she was caught? It wasn't like the cops would take her home to mom and pop John Q Public, tell on her and let her off with a slap on the wrist. They'd hold her and try to pump her for information on her father and his business. Information Taylor was quite sure she'd have since try as he might; Benny never had been quite able to keep his daughter out of his business life. Telling Storm any of that was not going to endear him to her, and he knew it just might get him kicked out of the car straight to the curb out in the middle of no where. He held his tongue with effort.

"I just don't like racing that much, let alone on city streets. I'm not here to try and stop you."

"Yeah, ok." Storm glared at him, not buying it for a second. "You can wait at the warehouse while I race then. No one says you have to tag along. Besides I don't need to haul your extra 200 pounds around wit me anyway." It was Taylor's turn to glare. The evening was fast disintegrating around him. He couldn't figure out what he had been thinking asking her out. Then he remembered how she'd looked in her little sports top and shorts while she'd been all sweaty. He'd been thinking with his wrong head. That explained it all.

A man could get in a lot of trouble that way. He tended to forget that while a woman might look good on the outside, most of them were shrews inside. None more so then Storm Demaret who was too use to having the men in her life wrapped around her pinkie. It might do her good to meet a man she couldn't own hook line and sinker. He decided to try and play nice just a bit and see where the evening went. Maybe something good would come out if it. He would be more sure of it if he thought she could keep her mouth closed for 10 minutes in a row.

Storm stopped her car with a squeal beside her best friend's Mazda MX-6. She stood up out of her car and shut her door, watching as Devon, her friend, did the same. Truth told she was glad to get away from Taylor's oppressive mood, even if it was only for a few minutes.

"Hey girl!" Devon exclaimed, taking in Storm's appearance. "How you doin?"

"Good. How's you?" Storm asked, falling into her street language and easy ways as soon as she was surrounded by her friends and the familiar atmosphere of the racing scene. It was getting late in the year and they'd soon be done racing for another season. Everyone packed it up and put their cars away in late November, in preparation for ice and snow. Storm would soon be back to driving her Cadillac but the thought of it didn't impress her. It wasn't her style.

"I'm good. I thought you were gonna be a no show." Devon wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder and started to walk her away, over to where the people were deciding who would race who and placing their wagers. Storm shrugged him off.

"I had to pick up a friend tonight." She turned back to look for Taylor and found him standing next to her car, looking out of place in his white undershirt, and looking uncomfortable to be there. "Taylor!" She called like an order and waved him over. He came with a decidedly unfriendly look on his face, not happy with her tone or his feelings of discomfort. "Taylor, this is my friend Devon. Devon this is a friend of mine and my brother's, Taylor."

Taylor just looked Devon up and down and Devon gave Taylor an appraising look. He leaned over to Storm's ear.

"He's cute. He play for the L's or the D's?" Storm giggled despite herself, knowing full well what her friend was hinting at, even if Taylor was blessedly ignorant. Storm said blessedly because she knew if Taylor knew he'd be throwing punches.

"The L's I'm afraid." Storm linked her arm through Taylor's, showing their relationship. Taylor gave her an unreadable look, but since she was looking at Devon he could only glare at the top of her head. Devon pouted. Devon was into the D's, which stood for dudes. Storm smirked, knowing her friend was jealous.

"I'm going to go talk to CJ. There's a new guy here tonight. You should ante up Storm. He's got deep pockets and you could take him."

"We'll see Dev. You're my agent, go work it out."

"Yessum." Devon walked off to find the man who ran their races named Charles James or CJ. He was a man who'd been building tuner cars and finding 5-0 free spots for the racers of NYC for years. He'd helped Storm build her own car and he hooked her up as often as he could. It wasn't everyone who could boast they'd been the exclusive parts supplier for a Skyline.

Storm had found out about Skylines in the early 90's and decided she wanted one. No Demaret ever paid full price for a car so she knew there was no way she was paying the obscene amount she was told it would cost her to bring one into the states legally. She researched it further and found out she could use some of her dad's contacts to lie about the date of manufacture of an early GT-R and bring it into Canada. Then a few more dollars bribed a few bureaucrats and got her legalization papers falsified.

For that reason she didn't go too flashy. The car was an 89, the first year for the GT-R model. It was, however, the year the car was lightest and less encumbered by extra gadgets it didn't need. She'd upgraded all the important things like her turbos and fuel system with CJ's help. He also wondered where her money for paying for all her mods had came from, but he knew better then to ask questions. Storm was grateful that her father had insisted she keep her face out of the papers and TV news programs. It had helped her keep her family identity from the street scene. So CJ helped her build her car over the span of a few weeks, and then it took a few more weeks to paint.

And bingo, she was the proud owner of the only Skyline in NYC. She kept her identity on the low, knowing that she and her family didn't need the press. Her life as Storm the racer and her life as Storm Demaret never mixed. Only Devon knew who she really was and he'd never tell. He was in the closet about his sexuality from his own prominent family and he had as much to lose as Storm did.

Storm wasn't the best racer but she won enough to make it worth her while to keep doing it. She had a hard time hiding where she got all her money from sometimes. People looked at a person funny when they lost two grand and didn't even bat an eye. But they chocked it up to her having a good poker face most of the time. She was known only as Storm to the racing world and she'd painted her car to fit the name. It was a dark midnight blue with storm clouds on the roof. From the clouds many bolts of lightning were striking down, and around the hot white bolts of light the car was painted a misty purple. There was a band of car at the bottom painted like an ocean, where the bolts were striking down to.

"Who's that guy?" Taylor grumbled out.

"Devon. Just a friend." Storm answered, preoccupied. She was really doubting the wisdom of taking Taylor with her to races. She wondered if he'd run to tell Matty and her father where they took place.

"You always let your guy friends put their hands on you?" Taylor growled. She was still holding his arm from when she'd called him over. He looked down at her, looking like he was ready for some exercise, namely breaking things. Things like faces and necks.

"Taylor, he's not after me. Don't sweat it." Storm waved him and his concerns off.

"He was awful familiar with you then."

"Taylor?" Storm looked up with laugher dancing in her eyes. Taylor Reese was jealous over her. It was a nice feeling to know he cared at least that much. He was jealous of her over a gay man but he was still jealous.

"Wha?"

"He's gay. Gay as gay gets. He's into guys. He's not after me." Storm gave up and laughed.

"So when he asked if I played for the D's or the L's he meant…" Taylor trailed off, strange look on his face.

"He wanted to know if you were on the ladies team or the dudes. I told him ladies and made it clear I was here with you." Storm grinned a mile wide and punched Taylor in the upper arm fairly gently. "You're funny when you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous. I don't like to see people putting their hands on my boss's daughter or on my best friend's sister." Taylor scowled.

"Sure." Storm drawled. She watched Devon make his way back over to them.

"CJ says you're in if you want in but it'll cost you three large."

"Take him this." Storm handed Devon a roll of money. Taylor glanced at the size of the roll in shock and waited until Devon was once more out of ear shot.

"Where did you get all that coin?"

"Here and there. Winnin races mostly. I save it when I win so that I can race again. I got my sources though. My dad hasn't bank rolled any of my racing or my car. I did it all on my own." And she was damn proud of that fact too. It was clear for all to see.

"How _do_ you bank roll this little racing team of one Storm?" Taylor asked, not buying that she saved her winnings.

"Like I said, I save my winnings and I have a few things on the go to make some scratch. A girl of my age can't be asking her father for money every time she needs some now can she? And if I tried to get a job in society at large I'd just get more of the treatment Matty sees. You don't need to worry about where my money comes from."

Taylor just gave her another one of his looks she was fast coming to despise. The look that went right through her and let her know he knew she wasn't being entirely truthful with him. Devon made his way back to them yet again.

"You and the new guy, usual spot is out cause the pigs are onto it again. They're cracken down Storm and you know it'll be your ass if you're caught."

"Just shut up and tell me where we're goin if the usual spot is out." Storm sighed. Devon, knowing what would happen if the cops caught Storm tended to be just as overprotective of her as Matty.

"Over to Fifth and Broadway. It's exactly a quarter mile from the first set of lights to the fifth. Don't get caught."

"I heard you the first time Dev. You comin Taylor, or waitin here?"

"What happens?"

"I go to the street. I race. Hopefully I win; I come back here to collect my winnings."

"Can I come with you?" Taylor asked, hating to sound like he was asking permission.

"If you want to. You sounded like it wasn't something you'd wanna do."

"You sounded like you wouldn't want me along." Taylor countered.

"Well, really I don't need your extra weight in the car when I race but it won't make too much difference in my car. If you wanna ride along you can ride along."

"Ok. Let's go." Taylor got back into the car.

"Yes sir!" Storm mock saluted and rolled her eyes.

"Who _is_ that guy?" Devon asked once Taylor was in the closed car and unable to hear them.

"He's a friend of my brother's. I had a crush on him and he finally asked me out but I'm beginning to wonder if it wasn't just a case of a pretty face and body making me not care about if we have anything in common."

"He's hot, I'll give you that. But he's so bossy."

"Yeah, and so am I. It's gonna make sparks fly."

"I hope you don't end up burned." Devon looked really worried and it didn't suit him.

"I can take carea me. Don't worry bout it." Storm grinned, thusly reminded she could in fact handle her own. She'd be fine.

"I'll try not to then. See you after the race?"

"You know it. I'll have to come back and collect my winnings."

"You going to the club after this?"

"Likely. Might have to run Taylor somewhere first though. I don't see Overdrive as his scene. Of course this isn't either yet here he is. We'll see."

"Ok, race safe."

"You know it." Storm got into her car. Taylor had his arms crossed and he was glaring out the window.

"Taylor, you gonna be mad at me all night? You knew why I was comin here when you got in the car."

"I'm just not sure you understand what would happen to you if the cops got a hold of you."

"They'd have to know who I was first and I have a fake driver's license for when I race. I got it on lock Taylor so stop worrying about it huh? Just sit back and watch me make the easiest three grand you ever saw made, aiight?"

Taylor only huffed in answer.

Storm pulled up to the line and rolled her shoulder, then cracked her knuckles. She hadn't been able to race in some time and she was looking forward to it. It might well be her last one of the season. What she didn't know at the time was it might be the last one of her life.


	5. Alone in a Crowd

**Velocity Shift**

By -_TempestRaces_

Chapter 4 – **Alone in a Crowd**

Taylor was busily ruminating on the scene he'd left behind when he'd torn off with Storm in her car. He'd never seen so many flashing lights in such a rainbow of colours or heard so many different songs all blaring in one place outside of a carnival midway. The more he thought about it the more the whole place had reminded him of a carnival. It had even had the scantily clad women running around and high powered machinery. How much money these kids had wasted on irrelevant modifications to their cars blew Taylor out of the water. He could think of a lot of better ways to spend the kind of paper these kids did on huge chrome rims and neon lighting.

He just didn't see the point. Ok, so Storm stood to make three grand if she won, but how much had her car cost her? Was she ever likely to make her money back? Taylor didn't know the answers for sure but he figured the answer was no. He just didn't see the attraction to spend the money that Storm had on a car that was pretty much useless for anything but car shows and street racing.

And since he didn't understand that it pretty much meant he didn't understand Storm. A fact he was fast becoming cognizant of. The fact she was very aware of that fact herself filled her pretty green eyes every time she looked at him when he was taking her to task over it. It galled Taylor to no end that she was thinking she was crazy for going with him at the same time as he was thinking he was crazy for asking her. He wasn't the crazy one about to race his car on a public street. He wasn't the one who thought he had a place in the mob even though he was a _female_. Where did she get off acting like she was the one getting the proverbial shit end of the stick in this situation? On that note Storm stopped fiddling with her stereo and looked up at him.

"I need you to move for a quick second." Storm requested, waiting for him to comply.

"Why?"

"Because my NOS tanks and their valves are hidden under your seat." Storm looked at him expectantly, still waiting for him to move. He got out, mumbling about the foolishness of street racing the whole way. When she motioned him back in he sat with a flop. "Buckle up." Storm reminded.

"I don't do seatbelts."

"Yeah, well you do now. Do up your harness." Storm finished her order just as she saw CJ walking up to her window. "I mean it Taylor, in this case you will wear a belt or you will get outta my damn car." She turned away and rolled the window down to greet her friend and mentor.

"Hey Storm. You ready?"

"Of course. So, who's this dude I'm up against?"

"Some guy from upstate. I never heard of him before but check out his ride."

Storm leaned around him to look at the car that was pulling up on the stop light line beside her. "Not bad." Storm said, looking back at CJ, who winked.

"You'll get him."

"Sure I will." Storm winked in return, and followed it with a throaty laugh.

After CJ had moved off she looked back at the yellow car beside her on the line. It was a Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, around a 2004 if Storm didn't miss her guess. She was talking to herself under her breath as she double checked all her gauges and her harness.

"What are you saying?" Taylor asked, wondering if Storm was as crazy as he was starting to think. Why else would she talk to herself out loud?

"I said, 175 horsepower, 180 lb-ft of torque, short first and second gears, and the hood scoop means it's been turbo'd. Likely has a header and catback system too. It does 0-60 in 8 seconds stock. 2.5L 4 cylinder and with a turbo setup its likely pushing 300 horsepower and I bet he's got his NOS set up for a hundred horsepower shot. So under NOS he's got 400 horsepower. It's a straight race but my car'd be better in the twisties anyway. I got this." Storm blew out a breath forcefully and cracked her neck again.

"You got that all memorized. You know all that about his car?"

"Yeah. I made it my business to know the specs on most of the cars I was likely to come up against. Helps me plan strategy."

"So you think you can beat him?"

"No." Taylor looked at her in disbelief. "I know I can." Taylor laughed out loud. The old Demaret confidence. That was more like it. Much as he might not like it, if Storm Demaret ever acted like she thought there was something she couldn't do, couldn't have he'd have died of shock. If she showed anyone weaknesses it sure wasn't him.

A girl wearing a skimpy tank top and short skirt walked out between the two cars. Taylor leered at the skank. Storm decided to let it slide, even though some level of her she didn't want to acknowledge wished it was her he was leering at. "You ready?" She inquired, fighting to keep the jealousy out of her voice. Why wasn't he looking at her like he was that slut? Didn't he know which girl was class and which was trash? Storm shook the feelings off and focused on what she had to do instead. She couldn't let Taylor's attitude eat her for now. She had a race to win first.

"Yeah, it's only what? 20 seconds of fast driving." Taylor brushed off his nervousness and projected his usual confident self to Storm.

"Try 10." Storm grinned and revved her engine. The car growled with a low, barely contained anger, like it was ferociously angry at being held still while it was revved to the redline. Everyone around the car started to cheer.

"Why are they cheering?" Taylor inquired, wondering what about a high revving engine was cheer-worthy.

"Because my car is blowing flames about 4 feet long out of dual tailpipes that's why." Storm looked over at Taylor with a smirk.

"Flames?" Taylor shifted in his seat, thinking about where the exhaust piping carrying those flames was likely to be running. Right under his ass, that's where. The thought was far from comforting.

"Yep." Storm refused to take her eyes off the girl getting ready to start her race even though Taylor's discomfort amused her. The girl dropped her arms. Storm dropped her gas foot and feathered her clutch. She and the yellow Sentra left the line in unison. Storm was totally focused on what she was doing. She never spared Taylor a glance once they were moving.

Taylor couldn't get over the look of pure concentration on Storm's face. He'd never seen her so focused. She was totally involved in her car. Every movement she made was as fluid as water in a stream. There was no wasted effort or energy in any of it. She was keeping dead level with the Sentra, not giving any ground but not really gaining any. Taylor was counting lights as he watched Storm hit third gear and watched the second set of lights flash overhead. If he remembered correctly there were three more sets to go.

Then he watched the yellow car streak ahead of them and he groaned. He hadn't wanted to be a part of this hobby of Storm's, and in fact he knew that if her brother and father found out he'd encouraged her he'd be in trouble, but he couldn't help being caught up in the moment, in the adrenaline. He didn't want to lose. He looked over at Storm again and saw that she was breathing fast, almost panting and her face looked a bit flushed. If he didn't know better he'd say the whole proceedings was turning her on. She poised her finger over her hazard light switch.

"You gonna flash him into losing?" Taylor snarled, wanting to win as much as she had now that he was caught up in the moment.

"Hold onto something." Storm laughed as she hit her hazard light switch and the car shot ahead like a bullet out of a high powered assault rifle. The lights along the road turned into blurs of red and white as the car streaked up at the Yellow Nissan it was chasing and passed it neatly.

Not content to rest on her laurels, Storm hit the hazard light switch again and streaked them farther past the yellow car, straight under the forth set of lights and rapidly closer to the 5th and final set. Taylor was slightly in shock while he experienced his first fast drive enhanced with NOS.

Taylor turned in his seat to check where the yellow car had ended up. He was about 4 car lengths back but closing rapidly. He checked where the final intersection was and saw the yellow car couldn't catch them. Its driver managed to move as close as to get his front bumper in line with Storm's rear one but she flew over the finish line almost a whole car length in front of him.

With a self satisfied, breathless laugh that was one of the hottest things Taylor had ever heard she locked up the handbrake, skidded the car 180 and proceeded to fly back to the warehouse from whence they'd come.

"You enjoy that?" She asked with a quick glance at Taylor. She knew she had. Probably more then Taylor would ever guess. She knew, without being told that Taylor ultimately had a good time too. He'd been as caught up in winning as she had once he was lost in the moment. She wondered just how much he'd enjoyed it. Since she lived for the moment, she wanted him to enjoy living that way too. At least while he was with her.

"Was alright." Taylor wouldn't let himself let on just how much he'd enjoyed the experience. Of course it was more about watching her do her then about the race. But the race had been a good rush too. She could tell from how involved he'd gotten when he thought she was losing and from the look on his face as they streaked under the final set of lights he'd enjoyed it far more then he was willing to let on.

"Yeah, a few more and you'd be beggin me to teach you to drive this so you could race too."

"Don't count on it. So you made three grand off those 10 seconds huh?"

"Hell yeah baby! What a way to live!" Storm giggled, pulling up her car in its parking spot and climbing out. Taylor exited the vehicle too and watched as Storm was surrounded by a mostly male crowd of admirers. Her buddy CJ handed her a stack of cash.

"There you go girl, good race. You wanna meet the guy you just smoked?"

"Only if he's not in a pissy mood about losing his money." Storm raised an eyebrow.

"I'll introduce you next race then." CJ chuckled, knowing his new boy was fit to be tied over being beaten by a girl in an '89 anything against his surely superior skills in an '04 spec-V he'd spent tens of thousands on modifying.

"I thought so." Storm walked toward Taylor. "I mean if he ran his mouth then my date here might have to defend my honor. Wouldn't you Tay?" It was the first time she'd shortened his name. No one called him that but his mom, he didn't allow it. But coming from her lips it just sounded so intimate that he let it slip as he slipped an arm around her waist. When she said his name in that tone it made him think of mussed sheets and late mornings. He shook his head at himself. He couldn't go there with Matty's sister. No way. She was looking at him, awaiting an answer. There was only one he could give.

"'Course." He assured her, knowing he was showing off for the crowd of guys who were busy hating him for being with the trophy they all wanted.

"Good." Storm laughed, throwing an arm around Taylor's waist possessively. "Let's go mingle."

"Can we just go? I think it's time we headed for home." Taylor was done being sociable. Two hours was all he had in him and if you counted the time he'd spent with the boys since it was now 1am it had been 2 hours.

"Hell no, the night is young. I'm headed out to dance when this is all over. I got some people to see." Storm answered, the laughter leaving her face as she watched the stubborn look sweep over Taylor's. He figured he was going to get his own way in this. She didn't think so. Storm would have been willing to bet money that an argument was on the horizon.

"Hell no Storm. It's late enough."

"I didn't know you were so old that 1am was late." Storm put a hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow. "What else has your advanced age affected Tay?" Taylor bringing her down on her night was pissing her off. She was the winner, the star of the night. Why did he have to try and dim her light?

"Nothing!" He snarled out then continued. "I mean it's not like you can just walk up in normal clubs Storm." Taylor growled, knowing what would happen if she was caught by her family or those who couldn't stand her family in a dance club.

"No one down here knows who I am in my other life Tay and it's gonna stay that way. 'Member what I told you about trying to run my life for me? It isn't gonna happen. I wanna go out so I'ma go. If you don't want to I can take you home or to your van before I head down."

"I think you should go home before your dad figures out you ain't in bed."

"I think you should mind your own business." Storm growled. Taylor frowned back at her, getting mad. He didn't take orders from girls, no matter who they were.

"I'm just lookin out for you!"

"So you say. But it turns out I don't need you Taylor Reese, I've been getting along just fine without you for 20 years. And I'll remind you now that I'm higher then you in this world Taylor, so watch your step." Storm hissed, totally disenchanted with him even after how totally into him she'd been mere moments before.

"I'll watch my step when you grow the fuck up!" Taylor roared, but somehow managed not to raise his voice.

"I'm all grown up and I been taking care of myself for years. I'm not gonna stop now just cause the great Taylor Reese decided I might be worthy and asked me out. I think I need my head examined for agreeing to so much as step foot outta my house with you!"

"I'm beginning to believe the same thing's true about me actually asking such a spoiled rotten rich bitch like you out in the first place."

"Well, a bigoted son of a bitch like you would feel that way." Storm shouted back at Taylor, getting very irate with the large man.

"If you value that pretty little ass of yours you will never call my mother into anything you ever say to me, not in any way." Taylor snarled in a low, angry tone which frightened all the bystanders into leaving the two alone. Storm was apparently the only one in the immediate vicinity who wasn't terrified.

"I'd love to know what you think you can do about it! Stronzo di merda!"

"What the fuck did you just call me?" Taylor asked Storm, his voice so calm that it almost scared even Storm. But then her anger took back over.

"It has no literal translation but as close as I could come that someone like you would understand is fucking bastard." She growled.

"What did I tell you about bringing my mother into this?" Taylor asked as he raised his hand to slap the look of righteous anger off of Storm's face. He was so mad that he wasn't thinking about what he was doing. She'd driven him to the brink of insanity. Plus no one said anything against his mother. Not in anger, and not even in round about ways. On pure instinct he sent his hand flying toward the side of her face.

The next thing he knew he was doubled over clutching his stomach. Storm had somehow blocked his slap, then spun around and sent a kick into his midsection with enough force to knock the breath right out of him. He stood up slowly and looked over slightly to his left, where she stood panting. Instead of fear for him after how close she'd come to having a bruise the size and shape of his hand marring her pretty face she showed him white hot anger.

Walking right into his face Storm snarled out, "Don't ever raise your hand to me again Taylor or you'll find yourself in a lot more trouble then simply catching your breath and being a bit embarrassed about getting taken out by a girl in public. Capisce?"

Taylor looked around and there were in fact some people snickering about him behind their hands. He wished some of the guys who were standing around looking angry would get angry enough to do something about it. He was so furious he could use a good fight against someone he was allowed to hit back.

"Taylor Reese, did you fucken hear me? Answer me! You simple or something? Don't ever raise a hand to me again if you value your life!"

That was pretty much it for Taylor. She was right. He never should have tried to hit her. He didn't really hold with hitting girls. At least not if they didn't hit him first. But it was the last straw. He wouldn't hang around to be humiliated by her either.

"Don't make threats you can't back up you spitting wild bitch." His anger got the better of him.

"I'll show you backing it up." Storm yelled as she used a different kick and nailed him in the knee. He almost went down from the force of the impact. He would have loved to know what the hell she was using to be able to hit him. Most men couldn't get as close to him as Storm was. His knee was stinging like a son of a bitch and he was willing to bet he'd have a bruise in the shape of her lug soled boot there tomorrow.

She moved in for a punch of some sort and he grabbed her arm and did the only thing he could think of once he had her in his arms. He wrapped them around her, pinning her arms to her sides and pulling her flush and tight against him as he looked down at her as she struggled and fought to get free. She was so pretty while she was impassioned. He saw her go to open her mouth, no doubt to let more filth spew out and acted on his first instinct to keep her quiet. He leaned down and kissed her.

Hard.

And she fought him as best she could in her helpless position. She might have been quick enough and trained enough to actually land blows on him, but once he had a good hold on her she didn't even come close to strong enough to break free.

Storm felt helpless rage build up inside her as she fought to get free and couldn't. He was just too strong for her to get loose from him when he was holding her arms so close to her body. She knew his kiss was born of anger, and a desire to punish her for humiliating him as she had by humiliating her back the only way he could without hitting her. And it was humiliating to be forcefully kissed by a man she at the moment couldn't stand and in front of all her friends and competitors no less. Her rage turned into a sense of total debasement as Taylor's punishment continued unabated.

She couldn't stand to see him, see triumph light his eyes as he realized that he'd finally won. She couldn't stand to see the people watching her be dominated so she clenched her eyes closed tight and tried to block out the feelings of absolute shame she felt as she stood in his cruel embrace. She was strong and tough, not to mention the daughter of one of New York's Kings. She had never been in a position of such total embarrassment before. Had never been in a position to feel so helpless.

The situation was completely out of her hands and there was nothing she could do about it. It was that sense of being helpless that got to her the most. The last time she'd felt things spinning so totally out of her control she'd only been 8 years old and the FBI had broken into her house, into her room in the dead of the night and stolen her father away from her. That night, experienced at that tender age was what had forged her resolve to never be helpless again. And till this night she'd pretty much succeeded in her endeavor. To her absolute horror she felt her eyes start to tear up.

The more Taylor thought about what he was doing the more like the bastard she'd called him he felt. Holding her and kissing her against her will was dirty pool. But when he opened his eyes and saw the tears tracking down her cheeks even though she never made a sound he felt like the biggest jerk on planet earth in that moment. He had never seen Storm cry. Not when she'd been 9 years old and he and Matty had yelled at her to stop following them. Not when her father's friends belittled her for wanting into their world. Not when she was snubbed by the other girls for being so aloof, never. Storm was almost as tough as he was and he knew it. But he had, in all his asshole glory just been the one thing in all the years he'd known her that had brought her to tears.

He knew he wouldn't have words to apologize to her. It wasn't something he did. Instead he put his feelings into their kiss. Turned it into something soft and yielding instead of hard and punishing.

He backed off and made the touch of his lips on hers feather light. He nibbled softly on her lower lip then caressed it with the tip of his tongue. It took a minute but he felt some of the rigidity come out of her stance. He released her mouth and started to kiss the tears off her cheeks with a butterfly soft touch of his mouth on her flushed skin.

Moving back to her mouth he kissed her softly again and released his iron hold around her arms.

The abrupt change in Taylor's treatment of her knocked Storm's world off its axis and she was helpless to resist the tenderness in his new kiss. When he kissed the tears off her cheeks it almost made her cry more. She knew, even if she didn't want to acknowledge it, what it would cost a man like Taylor to show such tenderness in front of a crowd of people like he was.

And when he turned her loose, no matter how hard she fought it her arms moved up to encircle his neck, almost like they had minds of their own.

Taylor felt his own arms settle around her again, this time softly around her waist, leaving her arms free. He lost himself in kissing Storm like he hadn't lost himself over a woman in as long as he could remember. The crowd faded into the background, as did his lingering shame over how he'd treated her. How dare he try to break such a proud person? He raised a hand to rub her back, hoping to make her feel the depth of his disgust for what he'd done.

Someone in the crowd coughed and it brought both crashing back to earth. Taylor released her lips and she burrowed her head into his chest. A feeling of tenderness lingered for a moment in Taylor's soul and it made him rest the side of his face on the crown of her bent head.

"Storm, I'm…I'm sorry." He managed, the words almost choking him as he said them. He waited for her response.

Storm felt the words reverberate around his chest as he spoke them in his deep baritone as much as she heard them, as low as he spoke. She knew he didn't apologize unless he really meant it. However she wouldn't learn what it had cost him to utter those words of contrition again until much later. How he didn't apologize now because he'd done far too much of it in his childhood. However, she wasn't quite ready to let him off so easily.

"I'm sorry for bringing your mother into it. She's a lovely lady and she didn't deserve to have me drag her into our fight." Storm replied, muffled against his shirt.

Taylor laughed softly, not really expecting her to fall at his feet, grateful for his simple words. He tipped her head up to look into her red rimmed eyes and kissed her quickly again. It was an impulse he couldn't resist.

As though he thought it might be safe to intervene now that the fireworks were over Devon walked up to the couple who were still locked in each other's arms.

"Storm, you ok?" Devon asked, keeping an eye on Taylor, ready to back off in a heartbeat at the first sign of trouble.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Storm said, stepping free of Taylor and looking at her friend. "We have a dance to catch do we not?" She raised an eyebrow, waiting for Devon to answer, hoping he could sense how badly she needed to get away from the crowd.

From Taylor.

"Yeah. I mean, CJ left for Overdrive already and he said he'd meet us there. You comin?" Devon held out a hand and waited for Storm to take it.

"Yeah, I'm comin." Storm took Devon's hand and started to walk away from Taylor with him.


	6. Russians?

**Velocity Shift**

By –_TempestRaces_

Ch.5 –**Russians?**

Storm looked back over her shoulder and saw Taylor standing in the place she'd left him. Though his gaze was totally unreadable Storm could sense his resolve to be left all alone yet again just from his stance. While a second before she'd been ready to escape from Taylor's presence she decided she couldn't leave him standing there all alone. "What about you?" She asked softly as Devon pulled on her hand, as though telling her to leave well enough alone and leave Taylor where he was. Out of her life.

"If you want me to." He answered and didn't move. He wasn't sure what he wanted, he was willing to follow her lead if she knew her own mind better then he knew his at that moment.

"Up to you. I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with, like go to a club or know I stayed out after curfew." She smirked playfully at him, sensing there was a hidden depth to Taylor that most people never saw, but that if she could find it he'd make it well worth her time and effort to do so. He sauntered up to her.

"I think I can handle it if you're sure you'll have me around." His black eyes had a uncharacteristic sheen to them that Storm would have to guess was trace amounts of lingering shame.

"I'll have you. For now. Pull anything like what you just did again and I can't guarantee what'll happen. We clear?"

"As crystal. Let's go." Storm sighed at Taylor still pulling the bossy attitude on her and allowed him to take her hand away from Devon as he led her back toward her car.

"I know you don't think you're driving." Storm said as they walked up toward the Skyline where it sat, unaware of the drama that had been played out this evening.

"You sure you ok?" Taylor asked quietly, not wanting anyone to hear him question her strength, but needing to know.

"Fine." She answered just as softly, but with a trace of resentment lingering in her tone.

"Ok. Lead the way." Taylor slid into the car, watching as Storm did the same and did up her seatbelt.

She put the car in gear and backed it out of the parking spot, watching to make sure Devon was following her. Once she saw the lights of the MX-6 behind her she took off, Devon close behind. Despite her best efforts to lose her friend on the way from a to b Devon stuck on her tail. Storm did it more to make Taylor uncomfortable then anything else.

They pulled up to one of New York's most popular clubs. The street out front was lined with limos and the lineup to get in was stretched half way down the street. Storm pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. Devon took the spot next to her. The spots were clearly labeled VIP only.

"I don't think you should park here." Taylor looked around at the various Beamers, Lexus', and Mercedes that filled the lot.

"This is my spot. It'd be anyone else parked here that'd be in trouble." Storm got out of the car and used her remote to click the trunk open. She quickly stuffed a handful of something into her pocket and slammed the trunk shut. "You ready?" She looked at Taylor expectantly.

"Yeah, I'm ready. What's in your pocket?"

"Money, car keys…lip gloss. The usual. Why?"

"What part of 'the usual' did you just get outta the trunk?"

"Money." Storm answered and looked away, starting to walk around the corner of the building toward the front line. Taylor gave up on getting the truth out of her with a sigh and followed her friend Devon, who was following Storm. He watched as the two younger people circumvented the line and went right to the door. He watched as Storm and the bouncer gave each other a kiss on each cheek and wasn't surprised when they were admitted without a fuss or paying cover.

He was surprised when they walked right around the metal detectors and weren't made to take their coats off and check them. He'd never buy that Storm was simply a regular customer of the joint. The treatment she was getting was right up to how they treated her father at Pizzo's and Benny owned that club.

Storm looked over her shoulder and found Taylor slightly behind her in the crowd. She waited on him to catch up.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I think it's loud and the flashing lights are gonna give me a seizure." Taylor squinted his eyes, trying to adjust to the lighting. He wasn't the kind of guy who hit dance clubs so the flashing lights and deafening music were not anything he was use to.

"You'll do a'ight." Storm reassured him but sounded preoccupied. Taylor watched as she stuck a hand in her pocket and looked around. He watched as a smile lit her face when a young, strangely dressed man walked up to her. They exchanged a half hug then did some sort of odd handshake. Something about it didn't sit right with Taylor but he let it slide.

"Come dance." Devon said to Storm and started to drag her out onto the dance floor.

"You know I always end up looking stupid when you try to get me to do that organized hip hop shit with you." Storm answered, but allowed herself to be led toward the dance floor. "You be ok here Taylor, or are you coming with?"

"I'll wait here." Taylor answered and leaned on a railing surrounding the floor. He watched as Storm and her group of friends fell into some sort of formation and waited for the DJ to start a new song. As soon as Storm was gone from his side three girls walked up to him and started to make conversation.

Storm watched the skanks move in on Taylor as soon as she'd walked away. "Look at the hoe's." Storm said to Devon with a sarcastically raised eyebrow.

"Let them have him." Devon said, with a great deal of feeling. He couldn't shake the feeling that this Taylor was bad news.

"Hell no. It's a pride thing if it's anything Dev. He's mine and they better push on. I don't wanna have to act a fool up here tonight."

"If he'd look at those girls twice over you then he's the fool."

"That remains to be seen." Storm answered. As if to prove a fool was the last thing he was Taylor sent the girls away from him curtly and went back to watching Storm. Storm took a deep breath and caught the beat as best she could when the DJ dropped the next song. She tried to follow Dev's lead but she wasn't very good at picking up their hip hop on the fly. When the song was over Storm was just as happy to get off the dance floor. Rather then go right back to Taylor's side she decided to tour the rest of the crowd and mingle.

Taylor watched Storm go and watched her do more of her peculiar handshake with various people as she went around the room. He noted she always stuck her hand back into the opposite pocket when it was released by the person who shook it. It wasn't sitting right with him. When she was almost back at his side she was greeted by a large man with a shaved head and a thick goatee.

She did her same 'European' greeting with the man, air kissing him on both cheeks as he did the same to her. Something about the man didn't sit right with Taylor either so he started their way, intent on finding out who he was and what Storm was into.

"You are getting proper treatment in my club, da?" The large man asked Storm with a smile in a heavily accented voice. _Russians, _Taylor though. _What is Storm doing involved with Russians?_

"Of course Vanya. I'm always at home here."

Taylor paused to listen in to their conversation before they noticed him. He was intrigued by what he'd heard already.

"My lovely Storm, when are you going to accept my offer of position in my crew? I need someone like you on my side."

"You know Vanya that I'm far too Italian to ever take a job to work for a Russian, da?"

The man known as Vanya laughed at her question. "Ah, but beautiful girl, while the Italians leave you to languish doing small time job as you do now, I would put you to work as you were born to do. Better to be boss then underling podi ku'evo?" Is it not so, Ivan asked Storm in his native tongue. The fact that Storm understood shocked Taylor even more.

"Da. But someday I will be a boss in my own family." Storm was smiling, it was clear this was an old discussion that neither party had ever grown tired of. Taylor snorted at Storm's declaration. _Over his and her father's dead bodies._

"You will be old woman when this happens. Come work for me while you are still young enough to enjoy job and pretty enough to have your pick of my sons." Ivan puffed out his chest, proud of his boys.

"My family would disown me if I went to work for the Russians, even if they won't let me work for them. Let alone married a man who wasn't from Sicily."

"There are all kinds of family. They treat you with so little respect; it would hardly be a loss. In Russia our views are not so old world and rigid. Good soldier is good soldier. You say you don't want to offend your family but they have not the same concern for offending you. Besides, you would gain new family with me. Comrades are family too, da?"

"Oh Vanya!" Storm chuckled. "If you didn't try to convince me to come work for you I'd die of shock."

"And if you ever said yes I would expire for same reason." Ivan chuckled with his response as well.

Storm felt the eyes on her and turned to find Taylor staring at her. "Taylor, come here a second would ya?" Taylor walked over to where Storm stood, a look that could have been a disapproving scowl on his face.

"Where'd you disappear to when you stopped dancing?" Taylor looked down at Storm.

"To meet some friends. I'd like you to meet Ivan Romanoff. Vanya, this is Taylor."

"Ah, so is Taylor in the flesh?" Ivan looked Taylor up and down, seeming pleased by what he saw. "I suppose it would do me no more good to attempt to buy you away from Mr. Demaret then it does his lovely daughter."

"I'm fairly happy where I am." Taylor replied in his typical gruff tone, not liking the situation of being in the Russian man's club or being head hunted for a new job by him either.

"I can offer you things that Benny 'Chains' and his comrades never will. You could run crew for me, could be lieutenant in my army. You will never be more then soldier for Demaret and that must be clear to you. My people know what is like to be ostracized for being Jew. You would go far with us Mr. Reese."

"Now Vanya, the boy said he was happy with my father." Storm chided gently, knowing that while she honestly liked the Russian man and had been quite tempted by his offer several times, Taylor was likely to take offense and start trouble.

"Ah but lovely Bella, you can not blame me for trying. You need anything you will let me know, Da?"

"Of course." Storm answered and exchanged the same farewell as she had greeting with the Russian man. Taylor watched as they air kissed beside each other's cheeks and the man known as Ivan, or Vanya to his close friends, such as Storm it seemed, turned to walk away.

"I will drop off supply in usual place?" Ivan paused to question Storm, almost like an afterthought.

"That'd be fine Vanya. Perhaps I'll see you around the club later, da?"

"Da. Have fun and of course my VIP room is at your disposal." Ivan walked away.

"When did you learn Russian?" Taylor asked, looking at Storm in a new light.

"In high school when I started doing odd jobs for Vanya."

"Your dad would definitely not like this." Taylor looked honestly concerned.

"I know. But he won't give me my shot so what else am I supposed to do? I keep saying no to Ivan's job offers but it's getting harder and harder not to say yes. I'd be running a crew in no time. The Russian's aren't as rigid, haven't been around as long and they aren't as hierarchical. But I do his odd jobs and he pays me well enough to make working for him on a permanent basis look very attractive."

"So that's where the money for the car comes from."

"A lot of it, yeah. It's my job. I work for him like you work for Teddy. On contract when it suits him to ask me and it suits me to say yes."

"What are you doin for him in here tonight?" Taylor asked, ready to have some answers.

"I'm just here to party with my friends tonight." Storm's eyes shifted away from his and Taylor knew she was keeping something from him.

"You're not a very good liar Storm." Taylor smiled despite himself.

"I actually am a very good liar. It's just you I can't lie to I guess." Storm shocked herself with her admission.

"So what are you doin."

"Makin my money." Storm looked away, knowing there was a big fight coming when Taylor did find out what she was doing when she wasn't making a fool of herself trying to dance as if she was in a rap or hip hop video like her friends could do so well.

"For the Russian?"

"In a round about way." Storm danced around a true answer and started to walk away. Taylor decided in the interest of continued peace and not having another public fight with Storm, he'd let it go.

"You looked pretty pathetic out there. You're not much of a dancer are ya?"

"I can dance just fine. It's that choreographed shit I can't do."

"I find it hard to believe that you can dance in any way after that sad display you put on with your friends."

"Ok hotshot, let's go." Storm took Taylor's hand and started to drag him out onto the dance floor.

"Oh no. I didn't say I wanted to dance. I just said you weren't very good at it."

"Oh, so you can't dance at all but you're mocking my attempts? That's rich! Hello, Mr. Kettle? There's a call for you." Storm held out her cell phone mockingly. "It's the Pot, he'd like to talk about whose black."

"I don't dance." Taylor stood with his feet planted and stared at Storm. He was not dancing with her in front of thousands of people.

"Suit yourself." Storm answered glibly and started to weave her way out onto the dance floor where her friend Devon was dancing with several other guys and gals from races.

Taylor watched as her friend CJ said something into Storm's ear. Whatever it was made her laugh. Really laugh. She threw her head back and laughed with her whole body. He'd never made her laugh like that. Giggle or chuckle but never had he engaged her so thoroughly as her buddy CJ did. When she had her laughter under control she slapped CJ on the shoulder and as the music started he grabbed her playfully around the waist and they started to dance together.

Storm hadn't been lying when she'd told him she could certainly dance one on one just fine. Taylor felt his jealousy rising but he kept it in check as he watched Storm and CJ dance with their hands all over each other.

"She is very beautiful, da?"

Taylor looked to his side in shock. The large Russian man from earlier had materialized at his side.

"She's pretty enough."

"But better then that is attitude."

"Her attitude stinks." Taylor spoke without thinking but Ivan only laughed.

"Of course you are right. It does. But for what she was born to do is perfect. The fire is strong in her, spirit is strong. She would make fine lieutenant in my army. And fine wife for oldest son. But she is determined to work for her own father. And I think more interested in you then in my son, Da?"

"I've known her brother since second grade." Taylor's answer was noncommittal.

"Ah, then is duty to her brother that you look out for her?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be." For all his attempts at vagueness it was clear that Ivan understood the unspoken themes of what Taylor was saying.

"The two of you would make good team working for me. You will think on this?"

"I couldn't work with her. We'd kill each other in hours."

"You would keep the fighting at home where belongs. You would look out for each other, and plan well together. She cares for you. Never has she brought guest to my club. I have heard of you. However, despite her reluctance to take job with me full time I have come to care for girl. Hurt her and I may not be the only one deprived of your services. You understand?"

Taylor was more amused by the Russian's threats then scared but he only nodded that he understood. When it came down to it Taylor knew Benny and Teddy would be the ones to fear, and he also knew they'd be on his side. But it was strange to see a man of such a different culture dote on the tough and aloof Storm Demaret. When Taylor looked over to his side again the Russian had disappeared as silently as he'd arrived. Taylor shook his head, finding humour in how his night was going.

And as it was 2am, he wished his night would come to an end. Storm however was still going strong. She'd walked off the floor with CJ at the end of the song and was again making a round of the dance floor, greeting people and putting something into her pocket each time. She made her way around the club and reached the main bar. She got a drink and Taylor never saw any money change hands. It was clear she didn't pay for her drinks in Ivan's club. So why did she say she had to get more money out of her trunk when they'd arrived? It wasn't adding up.

Storm drained her drink and asked for another. She quickly drained it too and got a third. She started to sip on it, not wanting to get drunk, just to relax a bit. She could feel Taylor's eyes on her.

"This guy you're with Storm, are you sure he's good news?" CJ asked as both he and Storm reclined on their elbows on the bar, watching the scene. Every once in awhile Storm would talk to people who walked up to her but mostly she just talked to CJ.

"No. Hell no. He's bad news CJ. But so'm I so…" Storm shrugged. "He's just my bro's boy."

"He likes you."

"He hates me. He thinks I'm too mouthy, too tough, and too bossy to be around."

"Then why's he here?"

"Cause he thinks I need a keeper. He's tried to get me out of street racing, out of my own way, and out of this club all since we hit races earlier. He pretty much thinks I'm useless."

"Then why he still here? Shouldn't you have kicked his fool ass to the curb by now? It's not like you to put up with shit like that."

"I know he's not likely to be your type but look at him. I'm not likely to find anybody hotter then him now am I?" Storm laughed.

"Yeah, well physical's all find and good for the first while, but when the blush wears off the rose, where will you be?"

"A few months older."

"Exactly. And no farther ahead."

"But they'll have been a hell of a few months."

"So what's he do?"

"He's in collections." Storm answered vaguely.

"And he's on his way over here." CJ said as he watched Taylor approach.

"Storm. I want to go home." Taylor didn't waste any time on pleasantries before he stated his demands.

"Go then. I'll catch ya around."

"It's 2:30. How much longer are you planning on staying here?"

"Closes at 3. I'll leave then." Storm looked up at Taylor and took a sip of her drink. "You want a drink?"

"No. I want to go home."

"You can wait half an hour." Storm drained her drink and set the glass down. "You comin back on the floor C?"

"Nope. I've had it. I was on my feet all day at the store and then at races. I'm about done in Storm. Thank god I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow."

"Ok then. I'll say 'night now incase I don't catch you in the closing crowd." The two bumped closed fists and Storm walked off. Taylor decided to follow her. He was getting really tired but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Storm looked back over her shoulder and caught the look of weariness on Taylor's face. When he caught her looking he schooled it back into his typical no expression look. She started to take pity on him. She was use to going all day and night; she got off on the rush it gave her. Not only was Taylor not use to her scene the fight at the races might have been harder on him then he'd let on.

"One more song then we'll leave ok? That way we won't get caught in the closing rush."

"Ok."

A slow song with a strong beat started to play.

"Come dance with me. It's not hard ya know?"

"I don't think so." Taylor tried to hang back.

"I do. Come on." She pulled on his hand harder and he eventually gave in and allowed himself to be led onto the floor.

He found he didn't have to do much work anyway as he watched Storm do her dance with him. The way she moved was reminding him why he'd asked her out in the first place and he found he wasn't quite as rushed to leave as he had been. He started to get into their movements and just enjoyed himself.

When the song ended Storm led Taylor off the dance floor with a sigh. They headed out to the car and got in.


	7. Wash Away Her Sins

**Velocity Shift**

By -_TempestRaces_

Ch. 6 –**Wash away her Sins **

"So, where to?" Storm asked Taylor as she started her car and waved good-bye to Devon.

"Pizzo's. Gotta get the van." Taylor leaned back and fished in his coat pocket. Storm could only tell he was digging for something, not tell what since she was picking it up in her peripheral vision.

"Sure. Glad the joint's closed by now."

"Only if you're lucky. You see any big black Caddy's you take off as quiet as you can." Taylor cautioned. "Sometimes it takes Benny til late to close down."

"No kidden. I know my father's habits pretty good. Besides, you'd be in just as much shit as I would." Storm caught a funny smell on the air. She sniffed again, not quite able to place it. She was about to ask Taylor if he smelled it too when she glanced over at him.

He had a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He took a drag, exhaled then answered her. "No shit. Can't believe the things I let people talk me into."

"Yeah. Whatever. No one smokes in my car. Out the window with it now." Storm used her power window master control to lower his window for him in advance. With a few choice words mumbled under his breath and a death glare her way Taylor complied.

"You know I was stuck in some stupid club with you all night right? I really need that smoke." Taylor sighed.

"OK, I'll get you to your car as soon as possible then." Storm dropped a gear and swerved out to pass the car in front of her. She darted around him and back into her own lane. "I didn't know you had such a terrible time." She floored the car again. Again she swerved.

Another car fell victim to her flashing rims and roaring exhaust. Taylor fought the need to grab the door handle.

"Calm down. I just meant that I didn't feel comfortable smoking in there and it's been awhile since my last cigarette ok. Shit, do you take everything so personal?"

"No."

"You gonna be mad at me for the rest of the night?"

"Night's over pal. It's almost 3am. Besides that it's really over for us cause here's your van." Storm stopped her car with a squeal next to Taylor's Van. "There you go."

"Thanks. I'm gonna follow you home. Don't drive too fast."

"I can drive myself home."

"I know you can. I'm following you anyway."

"Suit yourself." Storm watched as Taylor hopped out of her car and climbed into his own van. She listened it the van start with a growl and watched as Taylor put the car in gear. She zipped her car out of her parking spot quickly before Taylor could move and took off.

Storm was all mixed up about her feelings and as any amount of indecision tended to do it had put her into a foul mood. She wanted to hate Taylor for how he'd treated her all night long. But how could she hate a man who kissed like he did? She hit a button which turned her CD player on. Turning the volume way up always helped her relax. Something about the pounding of the subwoofer and the way everything else just receded into the background.

As the sounds of U2's Vertigo filled the cabin of her car she leaned back and wished she didn't have a strict no drugs rule in her life. She could really use a hit of something from where she sat looking at her own life. Something to calm her the hell down and relax her ass before she had a nervous breakdown. She had a lot on her mind.

Her brother seemed determined to fuck his life up messing around in a world he had no business in and she seemed determined to fuck up her own messing around with a guy she had no business messing around with. But she just had this feeling, this gut instinct, that Taylor could be so good for her. But when she sat down to think about it she just didn't see how, it was just one of those intangible things that you knew, but didn't know how. There was no logic to it. As far as personalities went he couldn't be worse for her.

She couldn't stand people bossing her around. She hated to be treated like she was somehow less then able to make up her own mind based on being a girl. Really, she mused, hadn't that attitude that girls belonged at home breeding children one after the other gone out with the 1900s? Not in her world. Not where men still thought they had to 'bring home the bacon'. Storm knew her father would be irate to know she worked for her money. She figured he had some idea she was up to something but he'd likely convinced himself she made her money gambling or running some small time racket like gambling.

If he knew the truth he'd have kittens.

Of course he did know about her racing. It was another thing that in his mind was for men to do. It was fine for men to race on tracks but women had no business doing it. Anywhere. Sometimes Storm was surprised he'd given her the Cadillac for her 16th. But then again she couldn't be the only one in her family who didn't have her own car for her 16th. Updated every few years of course.

For all her bitching she knew she had it better then the rest of her female cousins. Her cousins all hated her because of it too. Storm had never figured out if it was because her dad was the boss and theirs all worked for him or if it was because she got away with so much. She knew, as much as she said she hated it, she took advantage of her position as Daddy's little girl. The cousins all wore dresses to church on Sundays and got married in their early 20's to suitable men. Here Storm was, 20 already and nobody suitable on the horizon.

Her father liked Taylor. He was the kind of man that it was easy for Benny to like. He did what he was asked, he didn't fuck up and he didn't have a lot that he wouldn't do if it was asked of him and the right amount of cash was on the table. He'd be the perfect guy to 'make' but it'd never happen. Not with his mom being Jewish. His father was all Italian but it wasn't good enough to the knockaround guys. Nothing but pure Italian decent was ever gonna be good enough to put Taylor into Benny's shoes. And just as his blood wasn't pure enough to be 'made' it wouldn't be pure enough for Benny to accept him as a son in law either.

Not that her father's no would stop her if she wanted to marry Taylor. And not that Taylor was likely to ask her anyway. But Storm knew that if she were married to Taylor any shot she had at getting in with her dad would be lost, tossed away. He'd disapprove of the marriage and he'd toss her out of the family concerns on her ear. He'd never disown her. She knew that as much as her father bitched about her unconventional actions he was secretly proud of her take no shit attitude. It was the Demaret attitude and it skipped right over Matty. He might even come to accept Taylor as his son, might. But he'd still never let Taylor be more then the hired hand he was.

She was very indulged by her old man, many would say too indulged, but even her father's indulgence for her had a definite limit. She could push him so far with disobeying him and doing things he'd rather she didn't but there was a definite line in the sand and Storm wouldn't cross it. She'd seen her father in rage and it wasn't pretty. He wasn't an intimidating man in stature and his day to day demeanour wouldn't strike fear in any but the timidest soul. But send him into his 'business' persona and it wasn't hard to see how he'd gotten to his position. He was all business and that included his son and daughter. A fact that Matty had been introduced to time and time again since it seemed like Matty was always pissing the old man off in some way just by being himself. Not that Benny ever scared Storm, but that could be solely because she never pushed him past the line she was so aware of.

Without realizing it Storm had been gaining speed as she mused. She was going pretty fast on the highway out to her suburban house. She saw Taylor was flashing his lights from a piece behind her. She could only surmise he was having issues keeping up. With a sigh she downshifted and let him catch up, forcing her body to listen to her brain. Not her heart which was telling her to toss it into third and roar out of there as fast as her Toyos would take her.

xox

Taylor pulled his van out behind Storm's car in traffic and followed her round tail lights out through the city. The first thing he did was light a smoke and take a very refreshing drag. What a night! He wanted to kiss the steering wheel of his slow but steady and reliable Dodge Van. He was very glad to be behind the wheel.

Being in control of the van made him feel like he had control of is life again. A feeling that had been sorely lacking out with Storm in her world. Her world and his world were two totally different places.

What the hell had she been up to in that club? He knew she'd been handing out something, but what? She totally drove him crazy. Every time she opened her mouth he wanted to wince. He pretty much knew what she said was going to antagonize him or put him down, or criticize something he was doing or saying at the time. Or had done or said at some point in his life.

What was so wrong with staying home and _being a god damn woman_ to the girl? Why did she have to act like she was Matty's brother not his sister? Being good at what she did was no excuse for her to be doing things she shouldn't be. Hell, for 99 guys out of a hundred what she was trying to do was lose lose. There wouldn't even be a statistic on it for women because they didn't do what Storm wanted to do. Sure, they might be the brains behind a husband's brawn, but as for stepping up as the boss of the organization all on their own? No way.

But when he kissed her. Oh boy.

None of it mattered then. Taylor'd had his fair share of girls in his life. It was easy for men in his position and in his world. The girls all threw themselves at the men of the mafia. Some because they got off on the danger element, some to see what they could get out of it, some because they wanted to marry into the wealth and power, and still others just because they thought it sounded fun, thought it would be a rush. The mob had its groupies just like rock stars. It was just the status quo to guys like Taylor and Chris. Matty had never gone after those girls. Taylor had a theory he was looking for a girl like Storm to be with long term. Matty Demaret didn't have the temperament to pull off a hundred one night stands week after week.

Not that Taylor lived that way either. But the fact was he could have had he wanted to. He wouldn't feel guilty over taking what the girls offered. And offer they did. Taylor smirked when he thought of the two bleach blondes from the club that had come onto him. One of them had the face of an angel and the other had the rack of a hooker. If he had'a been able to make them into one woman he might have been more then tempted by what they were offering. But then he'd looked out and saw Storm about to start dancing with her friends. The way she looked with the concentration on her face had reminded him of how she'd looked in her race.

He was willing to bet that Storm chased the adrenaline rush because she got off on it in more ways then one. He'd be tempted to let her take him to races again just to watch her do her thing. But he was never going to a club with the girl again. Not only because he hated the scene either. He figured the less he knew about what she was into the better off he was. Didn't she know if her father asked him point blank if Storm was up to something he couldn't lie? You didn't lie to Benny Chains unless you wanted to die.

_Russians!_

What the fuck was she doing for Russians? Ok, maybe they weren't quite the sworn enemies they had been at one point. They still were not the kind of people that Benny would want Storm involved with. Not to mention she knew this very well. She'd looked almost guilty for it when he'd called her on it in the club.

"It's my job, how I make my money."

Her words circled around in his head. He was back to her actions again. What the hell had she been doing in that club for the Russian?

He looked woke up out of his thoughts and realized that Storm was almost a half mile ahead of him and flashed his lights at her, trying to get her to slow down. There was no way he could catch up to her as fast as she was going. He saw her tail lights blink and he realized he was slowly catching her.

They pulled into her neighbourhood at the same time. He expected Storm to pull up to the main gates of her house but she didn't. She turned down a side street that bordered her home and pulled up to a back gate. It opened on silent rollers and she pulled in. She motioned him to follow her in and he did.

He could see why she picked the back door. The back driveway lead right up to the garage. There was little to no chance anyone in the house would hear her coming home from this angle. Storm used another button on her remote and clicked the garage door open. She pulled in and after she exited her car she walked out of the huge garage and clicked the door closed. Taylor watched her as she walked up to the van.

"Ok, you did your boy scout duty and followed me home. You happy now?"

"Storm." Taylor sighed. "Why does this gotta be such a production?" Taylor pulled the van out of the way and got out with a frustrated sigh. He walked up to Storm and stopped a few feet away.

"Because you spent the whole night trying to change me or wishin you weren't even out with me."

"I didn't spend the whole night wishin I wasn't with you."

"Oh yeah? When weren't ya?"

"When I was doin this." With that Taylor leaned his head down. Storm watched his mouth coming toward hers. She unconsciously parted her lips. She wanted to find out if the thing between them had been real, or just a product of the moment they'd found at races. Could he really make her feel the ways she thought he could.

His lips met hers as his hands found her hips. As soon as his tongue touched her lower lip her arms wrapped around his neck. It was involuntary. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he could make her crave his kiss but she couldn't help herself.

When she stopped being a passive player in their game and kissed him back it drove Taylor slightly insane with lust. He used his grip on her hips to back her back against the end wall of her garage into the shadows. He felt her hands roam down his back over his ribcage then lower. And then suddenly her hands were on his bare skin, under his shirt.

He broke their kiss on a moan and started to nibble down Storm's neck. When she bent her head to do the same to him he stopped kissing her with a groan. Where they were headed was not somewhere he ever wanted to go with Storm Demaret, let alone outside in her yard against a garage. Her harsh breathing echoed in his ears along with his own.

"Taylor…" Storm couldn't believe what she was about to do.

"I know. I should go." Taylor sighed and moved slightly away from her, toward his van. He watched as her face fell.

"I guess you should." Storm answered, her upset over thinking he was again regretting her colouring her words angry red. He walked back up to her and cupped her cheek in his hand.

"What were you gonna say?"

"Nothin." She mumbled and looked away. "Nevermind."

"'Member, you can't lie to me. What was it?"

"I was gonna ask you up with me." She looked up at Taylor, unsure of herself for one of the first times in her life. What would she do if he turned her down? It would be the singularly most embarrassing moment in her life.

Taylor groaned. She sure knew how to push his buttons. But there was no way he could go home with her to Benny's house.

"But since you were no doubt about to tell me that being here was a mistake anyway maybe you should go." Storm looked down at her feet.

"Don't go gettin your panties in a twist Storm. I can't go home with you up into your dad's house." He moved back in front of her and put a hand back on her hip. He felt another one of those revelations he didn't want to share coming on. "I really want to take you up on your offer but we'd both be dead if we got caught Storm, adults or no."

"I know." She sighed. "I don't like your ass that much anyway."

"I know you don't." He gave her a quick hard kiss. Things were going way too fast for his comfort. "I'll call you."

"I won't hold my breath." She called back softly as though she knew that he was desperate for some distance. On that note she walked up the back lawn of the house. He watched her hips sway as she strode confidently up her lawn. No one would know if she was upset from the confidence of her gate, that was for sure.

Taylor watched as she shimmied up a drainpipe to an upper level balcony. He figured it must be her room because she climbed in the window and then a light flicked on. He got in his van and left.

He had a lot on his mind. Where was this thing with Storm goin? He couldn't just play around with Matty's sister. He knew that for a fact. It would likely be best if he forgot all about her right now and just moved on with his life. His attraction to her was too dangerous. Of course, he'd never been the guy to run from danger and Storm had never been the girl to play things safe. Who knew where things would go?

xox

Storm changed quickly out of her tight pants and top into a pair of boxers and a tank top. She threw herself on her bed and flicked the TV on. She was fairly sure that at 3:15am there was nothing on but she was too keyed up to ever go to sleep. She was flipping past MTV when there was a faint knock on her door.

She got up and padded to the door. "Who is it?" she called softly.

"It's Matty. Who else comes to your door at 3am?"

_Wouldn't he like to know? _Storm smirked, but rather then answer Storm opened the door wide and invited Matty in wordlessly. He walked into her room, dressed in similar clothes and stretched out on her bed.

"Well, do come in and make yourself at home brother dear." Storm said as she walked over to the other side of her bed and stretched out beside Matty.

"How was your night?"

"Was ok. I won 3 grand."

"Taylor enjoy goin to overdrive?"

"How'd you know about that?" Storm asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Chris called. He said that he and Marbles saw you and Taylor dancing together at 2:30 and things were lookin pretty cozy."

"Shit, I forgot about Chris and Marbles." Storm huffed and closed her eyes as she lay back on her pillows. "Taylor's gonna have a cow."

"Why?"

"Because his friends saw him slow dancing with a girl in a dance club that's why. Not really his style don't ya think?"

"No, it's not, but he likes you." Matty ruffled his sister's hair affectionately. "Though god knows why."

"Damn, why does everybody try to say he likes me when he spends the whole time we're together trying to change everything about me?"

"He does?" Matty looked really surprised.

"Yeah, he does. He hates the fact I wanna work with pop. He hates my car and the fact I race my car. He hates my club and he hates the work I do for Vanya."

"Well, you can't expect any of us to be happy your working for the Russians Storm."

"Why? Pop won't let me work for him so why shouldn't I work for Ivan? For that matter Pop wouldn't let me date Taylor if I asked and cared what he thought of it so why shouldn't I just say fuck Taylor and date Vanya's son while I'm at it? Either way pop's not gonna be happy 'bout it. Christ Matty, you know what it's like to run around day after day with no purpose to your life?"

"I know. Trust me I know. What is it you do for this Ivan guy anyway?"

"A bit of this and that. You don't need to know so don't ask me anymore ok?"

"Ok, ok." Matty sent his sister a sly look. "I'd say you and Taylor did a bit more then some close dancin huh?"

"What are you on about loser?"

"Well, your bottom lip is all swollen and you have these little red marks called hickies all down your neck." Matty laughed.

"Shit! I do?" Storm got up and walked over to her mirror. "That idiot!"

"Ha." Matty's face turned grim. "You can't do this Storm."

"Do what?"

"Get around with Taylor like this."

"And why not?" Storm put a hand to her hip and cocked one leg onto her toes. "When did you start caring who I dated?"

"Because of who you are and who he is. You'll mess up everything for him in the long run if you stay together Storm. I mean, he can't fall for you. How could the two of you ever be together long term?"

"It's not an issue Matty. We both know we're not the forever type. Nothin for you to sweat."

"Don't throw dad's lines in my face baby girl. I've been hearing them for four years longer then you have. You could love him Storm. I see it in your eyes every time you look at him. He's just the type you like. Strong, smart, loyal." Matty's green eyes were uncertain. He was worried about the situation and it showed.

"Yeah, but you forgot annoying and totally unable to see me for me. Matty, don't panic. If things get over my head I'll just break it off with him ok? It's not like Taylor's likely to give two fucks anyway."

"Give Taylor some credit sis. He's got feelings. They're just buried as deep as yours are."

"My feelings are too un buried. Don't you know? I'm too volatile. I know you've been around when pop's been handing out the lectures about it."

"Yeah, till it comes to love and the mushy feelins."

"I love you Matty. That's not hard to acknowledge."

"Maybe not but you've had 20 years of practice sayin it too."

"I know. Ma-y was my first word. I heard the story." Storm smiled at her brother. He was easily her favourite person in the whole world and the fact that he always had been was something she wasn't allowed to live down.

"The day they let me hold you for the first time was the best day of my life. I was somebody's big brother. You don't know how much it meant to me. Some days, when I was older and it was like I had no reason to be alive I'd remind myself I had to be your big brother and it gave me a reason to keep up ya know? I knew you were counting on me. Especially when we went to live with Uncle Teddy. His wife tryin to make a lady outta ya couldn't have been much fun." Matty smirked.

"Hell no. I missed pop so much for those 3 years he was away. Just because I wasn't allowed to run wild and follow you everywhere you went. No matter how different we are Matty, you've always been my idol too. I was so use to you'n Taylor telling me to get lost and then turnin around and makin sure I could keep up and didn't get lost. Then Teddy's wife goes and says that I shouldn't be runnin around with boys like I was some grease-ball."

Storm crawled into her bed beside her brother and put her head on his chest. His arm came up around her shoulders.

"Hey, our play wasn't half as fun without you around to blame shit on. You were our permanent cop to our robbers, cowboy to our Indians. When you weren't around one of us had to play the shitty role."

"Yeah. And I got stuck playin Barbie dolls with my cousins. Lucky Italian bastard." Storm giggled.

"I'm not so lucky. You're still the only reason I'm around Stormi girl. If you weren't around I'd take the advice I've been given and move states."

Storm looked up at Matty. "If you think you'd be happier then you should do it. Move and get a job. What's Taylor always say? Go be a citizen? I'll be fine Matty. It's not like I can't travel to visit you where ever you end up. I refuse to be the reason why you get stuck livin a life you don't want to live. "

"My job's been to be your older brother so long I don't know how well I'd adjust to a new one."

"You'll always be my older brother Matty. No matter where we end up or what we do you will always be the only person standing up for me no matter what."

"Well, you take up for me enough, especially with the old man so I guess we're just even."

"Matty?"

"Wha?"

"I'm scared." Storm admitted quietly after glancing around as though to confirm they were still alone.

"Of what Storm?"

"Taylor."

"He do anything to you to make you scared?" Matty looked like he was starting to get angry.

"No, he didn't do anything to me literally. This guy…I mean, you and I both knew all those times I tried to convince you I didn't like him I was full of it. But I liked him based on the fact that he's always been out of reach and the fact he's pretty much the hottest guy I've ever seen. In reality we have nothing in common. I don't think I even like him that much. I'm pretty sure he doesn't really like me all that much either. But what he makes me feel when he touches me. Porco zio!"

"Ah sister mine, sounds like you like him more then you're trying to convince yourself and the world." Matty chuckled. Storm slapped his chest gently and yawned.

"Yeah maybe. Worrying about it made me tired."

"Ok. Night then."

"Night." Matty moved to get out of Storm's bed.

"Matty?" Storm's question checked him. He paused.

"Yeah."

"Gonna thunder."

"How do you know that?" She always knew but he'd never thought to ask her how before.

"I can feel it, smell it on the air. Can't you feel how heavy the air got? How much electricity is in it? It's gotta break Bro."

"Ok then." Matty lay back down on the bed and settled in to stay. Within seconds Storm was snoring beside him.

He knew he should be ashamed of himself for being scared of thunder and lightning storms. At his age he knew he should be able to suck it up and just live with the fact he didn't like them, but he was pretty much terrorized when it thundered, add lightning to the mix and he was in for a bad night.

It all started when his mom had gone into labour in the middle of a bad storm. Though he hardly remembered her he distinctly remembered her crying and moaning as the contractions had hit her. He remembered that it had just been his mom and dad home with him that night and Benny had had no choice but take his 4 year old son with them to the hospital.

Matty remembered the fact that his sister had been born in the middle of one of the worse thunder storms New York had ever seen. Trees had been felled by it in Central Park. The rain had been torrential. The power had gone out more times then he, at four, had known enough numbers to count. He'd been left alone in a waiting room, scared and unsure of what was going on. His mom had been in pain when he'd seen her last in the car and he had no idea if she was better or ok since they'd taken her away. He'd been ordered to 'stay put' by his dad in the no nonsense tone of voice that always made him do just what he'd been told. He'd spend the time huddled in a chair scared out of his mind trying hard to 'be a man' and not cry.

But, since his sister had come out of it, it would have been ok. If not for the fact he'd never seen his mom again. She'd died giving birth to Storm. She'd lived long enough to chose her daughter's middle name, Stormianna in honour of the tempest she'd been born in the middle of, and then she'd had a brain aneurism and died.

When his father told him his mother was gone forever and wasn't ever coming back because she'd gone to heaven having baby Arabella Matty had been fully prepared to hate whatever a sister was. Because whatever she was she'd made his mother go away. At 4 he didn't understand how permanent death was. He thought that the baby had in some way angered his mom into leaving them forever. What other conclusion was his young mind to arrive at when they'd told him because Arabella had been born his mom was never coming back.

He'd felt that way right up until they'd told him to hop up onto the couch and then put her in his lap, telling him how to put his arms so he'd cradle her head and not hurt her. She'd been screaming blue murder when his father had carried her into the house. Little motherless bit of nothing that she'd been. No one could stop her, she just wailed and wailed. Then they'd decided to let Matty hold her. And the second she'd been in his arms she'd stopped crying, gurgled in her charming little baby way and grabbed his finger in her fist. He'd looked at her in wonder. A perfect little person right down to her tiny little toes complete with tiny little toenails and the cloud of almost black hair on her little head.

No one had even told Matty her name up until then with all the preparation for what to do about his mom.

"What's her name?" He'd asked his father.

"Arabella." Benny replied.

"Does she have a middle name like me?"

"Yeah, it's Stormianna." His father had admitted with a look of unpleasantness on his face. "Your mother made it up."

"She doesn't look like an Arabella." Matty'd looked up at his dad with a stubborn look on his face. "Did you pick it or did Mom?" He said mom in a half angry half sad tone of voice.

"I did. Mom picked Stormianna."

"I think her name should be Storm."

"Do you?" His uncle Teddy had asked, smiling. "You'd like to have a sister named Storm?"

"Yeah, like the thunder what took mom away."

"She's not much of an Arabella Ben. Too small." Teddy had said to his brother in law with a laugh.

"She'll grow into it. It's a good Italian name."

"My sister woulda wanted her called Storm."

"Then Storm it is." Benny had been too out of sorts about losing his wife and being stuck with an infant daughter to raise alone to give much thought to what his daughter answered to.

But even though he'd gotten his sister out of the deal, and gotten to name her, in conjunction with his mom of course, he still couldn't stand thunder. It didn't help that the night that the FBI, NYPD, and OCC had stormed his house and taken his dad away had been another horrible thunderstorm. He'd been able to tolerate them up until 12 but after the night they took his dad away he just locked up with fear during any sort of weather disturbance involving lightning.

Storm loved bad weather. He'd come to her room to spend time with her in storms more then once to find her soaked clear through on her balcony in the middle of the worst of rain, head thrown back just letting it pour on her. The one time she'd been feeling mellow enough to answer his questions about why she'd told him it was like the city was crying to wash away her sins and if Storm stood in the rain it might wash hers away too.

Matty pretty much figured he'd never be able to repay his sister for all the times she'd pretended it was her that was scared, that needed him to stay with her to keep her safe so that he wouldn't be embarrassed in front of his family or friends.

Just Matty and Storm, together against everything, including bad weather. As it had been, was, and if Matty had his way, ever shall be. His last thought as he felt sleep coming on, brought on by his sister's calming presence was that he was going to have to have a little talk with one Taylor Reese about how honourable his intentions were.


	8. Getting Burned

**Velocity Shift**

By –_Tempest-Races_

Chapter 7 –**Getting Burned**

"Storm, I need your help tonight." Benny breezed into his daughter's domain, the garage behind their house. She looked up from where she was leaned under the hood of her car. There was a smudge of dirt on her forehead and nose, where she'd scratched her face with dirty hands. Her long curly hair was in a messy bun and a black dew rag kept it tidy and out of her face.

Her father took in her faded, torn, stained blue jeans and equally stained white men's undershirt. The black around her face made her green eyes pop. As always it reminded Benny of his long gone wife. Storm was the very picture of her mother at the same age. But her mother had never worn pants, or gotten dirty. Her mother would never have dyed her mahogany brown hair blonde or gotten her eyebrow pierced. In short her mother had been the epitome of an old world lady, where as Storm was nothing close.

Storm wiped her hands on a rag and closed the hood of her car. Leaning back on it she looked at her father in question. "What do you need?" Storm didn't anticipate it being a good request. Her father would never ask for her help with something serious.

"There's a charity ball tonight and I committed to go, but I'm horrible at these things. I don't give a rat's ass how I interact with the public but Teddy said Giando's should buy a few tickets and try to clean up our image a bit. Supporting the homeless or some shit. I want you to go in my place. You work at the hall often enough to represent us at this thing."

"No way dad. I won't do it." Storm shook her head no and her eyes took on a stubborn cast. "Not a chance."

"And why not? I never ask you to do anything, but I'm askin you to do this for me."

"The answer's no. I don't work at the hall enough for anyone to recognize me because of it and when I do work there I mostly work in the back anyhow."

"Arabella! Go do this for me. It won't kill you to be a lady for one night."

"There'll be press all over the fucken place. I don't want my face and name matched together all over the fucken city." Storm blew out a breath and stared at her father with her eyes just snapping her anger. "I will not go be 'the notorious Benny 'Chains' Demaret's' daughter in the face of a ballroom full of snobby rich assholes with more money then brains just to end up with that reputation all over New York. I don't want the whole city knowin who I am by looks alone. I got a certain anonymity right now and I wanna keep it that way, thank you very fucken much."

"Language! There won't be press there who cares who _you_ are. There'll be real celebrities there for the press to follow around. All you have to do is go sit at a table with your uncle and his wife and play nice with a few of New York's elite citizens. Come on Storm, you gotta do this for me." It was more then clear that Benny really didn't want to go to this function. "I hardly ever ask you for anything but I'm askin you to do this for me."

"Go with Uncle Teddy's wife? You gotta be kidden me. I hate that bi-"

"That woman is still your aunt! She raised you for three years when I had no one else to ask. Show some respect."

"You go live with her for three years and see how much respect you have for her. She practically wouldn't let me see Matty for the whole three years. Even after what Teddy did to him and he needed me the most she still kept us apart. I had to sneak around to see my own brother. If I never see her again it'll be too soon."

Benny sighed. Everything Storm said was true. Teddy's wife had tried to make a true lady out of Storm but the woman's heavy hand had only made her worse. She'd run wilder then ever when he'd taken her back from her aunt, more determined then ever to be the exact opposite of what her aunt had tried to make her. Her aunt hadn't wanted to send her home, saying it was clear Storm needed the hand of a firm woman role model. Thankfully for Storm, Benny was much too fond of his daughter to leave her to live with someone else.

"Storm, please. I have two tickets. Take a date of your own choice, anyone you want. If you take someone of your own age with you it won't be so bad. You won't see your aunt that much. Take Matty! He cleans up good and god knows the boy ain't good for much else."

"Stop putting Matty down like that! Just because he ain't you or Teddy doesn't mean he's not good for anything. You can blame your sainted Teddy for how he is anyway!"

"Calm down Storm. I didn't mean nothin by it. Take who you want, just go for me. I'm beggin you here!"

Storm looked at her dad. He really didn't want to go to this thing. And he really didn't ask very much of her for all he gave her. She was only being dirty with him because he wouldn't ask of her what she desperately wanted him to ask.

"Does Teddy know you're pawning this off on someone else?"

"Teddy'll do what he's told. I'm still the boss last time I checked Storm."

"Yeah, but Teddy's the one that cleans up nice and ends up doin all the public stuff. If he actually tried to get you to do this he musta had a good reason."

"No doubt he did, but if you go or Matty goes it's just as good as if I went."

"If I say I'll do it I want the limo for the night. And spending money."

"All yours. You'll need to wear a dress. It's a formal event. Whoever you take needs a tux."

"I guess I should just take Matty then, he's already got a monkey suit to wear."

"I meant it Stormi girl, take who you want."

"Now I'm Stormi girl huh? A second ago I was Arabella and I felt a Stormianna Demaret coming on too. You get your way and all of a sudden I'm Stormi girl."

"You got a smart mouth. Must be the way I raised ya."

"Must be. Got no where else it woulda come from."

"Why'd it skip your brother?" Benny started to walk out of the garage, wanting to get away before his daughter changed her mind.

"Because he's so pure of heart." Storm answered, only half joking. Benny chuckled.

"Where as you got my black heart huh?"

"Somethin' like that. Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"What was my mama like?"

Benny looked at his daughter, wondering where this question had come from. Storm had never really shown an interest in her mother, having never known her.

"She was…" Benny trailed off, lost in his memories of his wife.

"Was she pretty?" Storm's eyes had taken on a dreamy quality as she thought about her mother.

"She looked like you. Or I guess you look just like her. Only she was quite happy to leave her hair the real color and wear skirts and not play in dirty garages." Benny softened his harsh words with a fond smile. "In short she was beautiful."

"I really look like her?"

"Just like her. She was only a year or two older then you when we got married. You and her could pass as sisters, what she looked like then and what you look like now."

"What was she like?"

"Like Matty in a lot of ways. Gentle, kind."

"So everything I'm not?" Storm giggled.

"You got enough from her. Her strength, her smarts."

"Did you love her?" Storm asked, not looking right in her father's face, but peaking into his eyes under her lashes with her head turned slightly away from his face.

"Jeese Storm." Benny looked clearly uncomfortable with the turn the questions had taken.

"Well, did you? You married her and had two kids with her. But was that because she was Teddy's sister and you wanted the Deserve family united with the Demaret or because you loved her?"

"Yeah. I did. It wasn't love that drew me to her in the first place but I wouldn't have married her if I hadn't. What's this all about anyway Storm?"

It was a good question. What was it about? What made her start wondering about it all now? It was just that the more Storm thought about things the more unconfident she felt. Was there something wrong with her? What if everyone was right and she shouldn't be in her father's world? Maybe she should just take up sewing and find some guy to marry. Would it make them all happy if she was more like her mother?

"Would you have gone to this thing tonight if mom was still alive to go with you pop?"

"Maybe Storm. Shit I don't know. What does it matter huh? Mom died and I'm not going. You are."

"You know what they say about a silk purse and a sow's ear? Just putting me in a dress isn't gonna make me a lady. I'll end up makin a fool of myself. I can't go to some fancy party in a fancy dress. Look at me." Storm looked down at herself and took in her dirty appearance and boyish attire. Benny walked back up to his daughter and took her shoulders in his hands, feeling one of his uncharacteristic fatherly moments coming on.

"You are my daughter Storm, too much like me for comfort. You can do anything you want to if you just put your mind to it." Benny put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a roll of hundreds. Pealing 10 off, he put them into his daughter's hand. "Here, take this and go buy a new outfit to wear."

"I don't need your money pop. I got my own."

"I know but this one's on me. My treat in payment for you doin the favour for me. Ok?"

"Ok." Storm pocketed the money. "I can really take who I want, no matter who it is?"

"As long as they wear a suit it doesn't matter to me."

"Good." Storm followed her father out of the garage. "I'll just change then I'll go start getting ready."

"Ok, just have your date meet you here and I'll have Teddy stop by for the two of you in the limo."

"Sure." Storm answered and Benny could tell she was already preoccupied. Benny pretty much figured that her date for the event would be her brother. He'd never heard of any of Storm's friends, let alone a boyfriend she'd ask.

Storm went shopping first. She called Devon as soon as she was out in the car on her way out of her neighbourhood.

"I gotta go to some charity thing for my dad tonight and I need a nice dress to wear. Since I haven't owned one since I was 12 I was sorta hopin you'd come with me and help me shop. I don't even know where to go to shop for a fancy dress in this city!" Storm ranted at Devon after they'd exchanged greetings.

"Yeah, pick me up and I'll show you where to go. Who you taken with you to this shindig?"

"Don't know yet? What about you? I know you got a tux hidden in that big house'a yours somewhere. You have to have gone to some of these things before wit your dad. I could actually use someone at my side who knows how you're supposed to act at these things."

"I'd love to be your arm candy Storm but I actually do have a date for it already. My dad put the strong arm on me a few days ago to go with a daughter of a friend of his."

"Shit. Guess I'll haveta take Matty. Gotta take somebody."

"Yeah, your brother's cute and better then that his good manners'll go over real well at this thing."

"No doubt. Am I picken you up or you wanna meet me somewhere?"

"What you drivin?"

"Cadillac. May as well get in character now huh?"

"Yeah. In that case pick me up. Can't have Daddy dearest see your car around here but in the Cadillac he won't have a thing to say."

"Ok, I'm out front of your house now."

"That confident huh?"

"Yeah. I know you and spending other people's money. See you in a few seconds right?"

"Puttin on my shoes Don Demaret, you slave driver." Devon laughed and hit end on his cell phone. Within seconds he was sliding onto the cool leather of the passenger seat of Storm's Caddy. He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, then picked up her hand and kissed the spot where her 'don's ring' would be. "Thank you for this favour godfather."

"Stop it fool. 'Sides you know that ain't never gonna be me, so why perpetuate the hope?"

"Who cares? For tonight you get to play fairy princess. Let's go crazy dressin you up. You know you can afford it."

"I can afford the cash but I don't know if I can afford what it'll do to my rep. Me showin up in a dress. A fucken dress." Storm huffed and rolled her eyes.

"People from races don't exactly hang out at these sort of events Storm. If I were you I'd go for the glam, old school mafia look. You know the ladies with a kings ransom in jewels all over them in the gaudiest display ever, dressed to the 9s in haute couture. You, much as you try to hide it from the world, have the figure to pull it off. Hair done up fancy, jewels, the whole 9 yards. What'd ya say?"

"Take me shopping."

"Yes! Now you're talkin."

"Where am I goin Dev?"

"5th avenue baby. Gucci of course. They're just your style."

"How could I possibly have a style in clothes that cost this much and grease will ruin?"

"Wait till you see what's in here. Trust me, you'll find something that says Storm, no problem."

"I'm in your hands." Storm turned the car toward downtown New York.

"You won't regret it sweetie." Devon sat back with a smile. Storm gave him a look saying that clearly remained to be seen.

After a frustrating ride through the city traffic they pulled up to the store and let the valet park the car. Walking into the store was an eye opening experience for Storm. There were more snobby women both working there and shopping there then Storm had ever seen in one place.

Devon dragged Storm right over to the section of the store where the evening gowns were kept. He started looking through all the blue gowns.

"Why blue?" Storm asked, puzzled. She'd never found blue to be one of her favourite colors. She preferred black and in some cases purple.

"Because blue is going to play up your hair the color that it is and your dark skin is gonna look great with it. Trust me."

"Ok."

"You a size what? 6?"

"I guess. I'm a medium if that helps." It had been so long since Storm had bought clothes by the size tag she honestly didn't know. Devon clucked and grabbed a dress he liked.

"Can't believe you don't know what size you are."

"It doesn't matter in my world."

"Ok. Try this on." Storm caught the gown thrust into her arms with a startled look and allowed Devon to push her into a dressing room carried on the same wave of shock. She found herself in a plush room. The walls were panelled in a rich cherry wood. There was a green silk bench, a few brushed aluminium hooks on the wall and then the whole back wall of the cubicle was a huge mirror.

Storm stripped off all her clothes to her underwear and looked at the blue gown in trepidation. What was she thinking? With a sigh she figured since she was in the room naked with the dress she might as well try it on. She pulled it on and got it done up despite the awkwardness of zipping up the rear zipper on her own.

It was floor length in the front, slightly longer in the back so it trailed out behind her just a bit. The midnight blue fabric had an iridescent sheen to it. This was enhanced by the tiny seed crystals encrusting the strapless bodice, heavy at the top near the neckline and tapering into swirls around her waste. The fabric felt cool and silky against her bare skin. It was almost sensual, like a caress. The deep blue color did just what Devon had promised. It made her hair look like spun gold and her Mediterranean skin look like smooth caramel. The blue contrasted with her eyes, making the apple jade color stand out sharply.

For the first time in Storm's entire life she felt like a real woman. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not. She was so use to being the girl who _wasn't_ it was very unsettling to be almost liking the feminine look. She was still staring at herself in wonder when there was a knock at the dressing room door.

"You alive in there sweets?" Devon called through the wood, muffling his voice. "Shouldn't take this long to put on a dress."

Instead of answering Storm opened the door and stood, one foot on its toes in front of her, making an agitated grinding motion as she looked at the carpet, waiting for Devon to hate the way she looked. When a full minute went by and he still hadn't said anything Storm managed to get her flagging confidence together and looked into Devon's eyes.

"That bad huh?"

"Oh no sweets. It's perfect. If you don't buy it I'm gonna kick your ass all the way around this block."

"You think?"

"I know. I wish I could dump little miss 'daddy's so rich' tonight and take you just so I could be the guy on the front page of the news paper with you tomorrow getting all the attention. You're gonna steal the show."

"Devon shut up! You're just lookin for something from me. What do you want? You still after me to teach you to drive my car?" Storm found it impossible that she could look that good in a dress as to cause her loudmouth friend to have nothing to say.

"Nope. Not lookin to get anything outta this Storm. That is _the_ dress. I mean you gotta go to this thing anyway right? So you might as well pull off the full Cinderella act right?"

"If you're that sure this works for me?"

"I'm sure. Now you need shoes and a handbag."

"Handbag? Hell no."

"Hell yes. Full treatment right?"

"Ok." Storm sighed and closed the change room door. She put her own clothes back on and allowed Devon to talk her into silver high heels and a midnight blue and crystal encrusted handbag that matched the dress.

"You know where we need to go now right?" Devon asked as they waited for the Cadillac to be brought around.

"No, where?"

"Vicky's secret of course." Devon smirked evilly.

"For what?" Storm absolutely did not plan on buying fancy underwear too.

"I somehow doubt you have a strapless bra, thong underwear, or stockings to wear with that dress do you?"

"No, but I'll be fine without."

"No you won't. Full package Storm. You're not getting out of it."

Half an hour later Storm had been fitted for a bra and underwear, after being embarrassed for the first time in recent memory by the sales lady who told her she had no idea what size she truly was. She allowed the sales lady, due to that same embarrassment, to talk her into a garter belt and matching stockings, all in midnight blue with white detail.

After they piled it all in the car Storm thought they were done for the day but Devon crushed her hopes. "Now we just need to go and get your hair and makeup done. Good thing a very close friend of mine owns an excellent salon."

"No hair, no makeup. I'll do the dress. I'll do the butt-floss underwear but I will not do hair and makeup."

"Yes you will."

"I just spent over a grand on a dress and underwear that no one will ever see. Why do I need to spend more on someone else doing my hair? He ain't cutting it or dyin it."

"Just a new 'do and some makeup Storm. It's only one night."

"I still need to track down Matty and make sure he's comin with me to this thing. Otherwise you might be the only guy there with two girls to escort."

"Matty'll go. Don't start sweatin stuff now."

Storm allowed Devon to tell her how to get to his friend's salon. She was dragged forcefully through the door however and it was obvious from her tense posture and 'I want to kill someone' facial expression she was not happy.

The owner, who was identified as Elliot took one look at her messy bun, GAP sweater and jeans and tsked.

An hour later they left the salon again. Storm left feeling like someone's pet poodle. She didn't know herself in the mirror. Her curls had been coaxed into a waterfall of golden blond ringlets, not a bit of frizz in sight. The top section had been piled on her head but allowed to trail down her back with the sides and back of her hair which was also long and perfectly curled. Her makeup was professionally applied and enhanced her slightly slanted eyes with their winged brows and her bow mouth, which was stained a rich berry color.

She'd somehow even been talked into gel nails and they were the same midnight blue as her dress.

"I can hardly drive with these fucken nails and my hair down long is the biggest pain in the ass ever."

"Yeah but you look like another person. No one who saw you like this would ever know you were our Storm from races. It's like you're a whole 'nother girl."

"Really?" This idea pleased Storm greatly. She figured anything that helped her keep her two identities separate was a good thing.

"Yeah." Storm pulled up to Devon's house. He opened his door and got out, leaning back into the car to meet Storm's eyes.

"You'll do fine. See you there tonight."

"Yeah, tonight."

Storm pulled away and headed home. She carried all her stuff up to her room and went looking for her father. She found him in his study.

"Hey pop. I got all the stuff I need for tonight but I don't have any real jewels and Dev says I need them if I'm not gonna stand out."

Benny looked up from his desk where he was working on some paperwork and did a double take at the woman standing in his office. "Where's my daughter and what did you do with her?"

"Ha, very funny pops. What am I gonna do about jewellery here? You're the one who made me do this! I got nothin to wear with a Gucci evening gown."

"I got you covered Storm." Benny walked up to a picture on the wall, moved it aside and opened the safe behind it. He tossed his daughter a velvet jeweller's box which she caught on instinct. Inside on blue satin was a set of diamond jewellery. It was complete with a waterfall necklace, bracelet, drop earrings, and cocktail ring. "Will that do?"

"Where did you get this?" Storm asked reverently, looking at the beautiful jewels.

"They were your mother's."

"I can't borrow these. They must be worth a fortune."

"Yeah, but they're yours anyway. I was just waitin on you bein old enough to appreciate them then you never really seemed to have an interest in dressin up so I figured they were safer in the safe. You'll take good care of them."

"Yeah I will. Now I really hope Matty's free."

"He hasn't been home all day." Benny answered, already becoming absorbed in his work again.

"You call Teddy and inform him of the change of plans?"

"Yeah, he was pissed at first but the intrigue of you in a dress won him over in the end."

"Hardy har har." Storm left to go call her brother. When he answered she started in on him right away. "Hey big brother, love of my life!"

"What do you want sis?"

"I need a huge favour."

"What?"

"That charity thing that Pop was supposed to do tonight, he conned me into going for him. I need a date and guess who's elected? My favourite brother."

"I'd love to Storm but I can't. I'm outta town and I won't be back til late tomorrow."

"Matty…" Storm whined. "I need a date. I'm wearing a fortune of mom's jewellery. I can't go alone."

"I can't make it home in time Storm." Matty sighed. "I really can't. Even if I left now I'd still wouldn't be back until like 10 tonight."

"Well fuck! What am I gonna do? I need a guy in a tux here at this house by 8pm. I was sorta countin on you Matty."

"I'll make some calls and get you someone ok?"

"Someone good lookin and able to take care of me while I can't wear my gun and have about 50 g's worth of diamonds on?"

"Yeah. Someone that good. Give me a few minutes ok? I'll call you back when I have you someone."

"Ok." Storm hung up with a sigh and sat on the floor of her room. She had visions of going alone and it wasn't pretty. She contemplated begging Devon to give up his forced date and take her instead. It wasn't like he was overly impressed with his dad anyway. But she knew she couldn't do that to him. His father was a prominent and straight as an arrow politician and her dad was one of the city's most notorious mobsters. It wouldn't be fair to Devon to put him in that position. Storm's phone rang and she answered it. "You live."

"I got you someone. He'll be there at about 7:45. Ok?"

"Ok. Who?"

"You'll see. Be ready. I called pop and he's takin pictures so I don't miss my baby sister in her first ever dress."

"You're a bastard Matty Demaret."

Matty only laughed so Storm hung up on him and started to put on her new clothes. Just as she was putting on the second earring the doorbell rang. She raced down the stairs as fast as her new high heels would let her and flung the door open only to find Taylor on her step in a tux looking just as uncomfortable in it as she did in her dress. It was all worth it when his jaw dropped open just a bit.

"Storm?" He asked gruffly, not sure what to make of her in her finery. He picked up one of the goldilocks curls from her shoulder and rubbed it between his fingers to find out if it was as silky as it looked.

"Yeah. Taylor?" She asked, eyes mock wide, her voice in the same shocked tone as his as she straightened his bowtie.

"Yeah. Matty called in a few favours to get me into this thing let me tell ya." Taylor ran a finger around his neck, the bow tie that came with the suit feeling uncomfortable and unfamiliar.

"Who is it Storm?" Benny called from further down the hall. "Is it Teddy?"

"Nope, my date! Storm hauled Taylor into the foyer. "I'm sure you remember Taylor? Matty couldn't make it so he asked Taylor to take me instead." Storm said as she stood beside Taylor.

"Hello sir." Taylor stood uncomfortable in the huge hall. He was use to Teddy because he did all his dealings with Teddy. Benny was too high up in his world to worry too much about the people they hired for the various jobs they had to contract out for. Benny left most of their dealings with Taylor for Teddy, and found out most of what he wanted to know about the big man from Matty.

"Hello Taylor. Well, I guess I won't have to worry about Storm wearin all those rocks with you around to protect her." Benny laughed at his own joke. Taylor only nodded as Teddy walked into the house.

"This my niece? Are we sure?" Teddy teased as he hugged Storm.

"You all need to shut up!" Storm headed out the door after breaking free from Teddy, turning back as she realized no one was following her. "Are we gonna do this or what?"

"Yeah, we're coming." Teddy called, following her out of the house, leaving Taylor to bring up the rear. They all got into the car and Storm took the farthest seat from her aunt available. It didn't matter because her aunt started in at her right away about what an improvement the dress was and how ladylike Storm looked. Even then the woman couldn't resist getting a few digs about how it was all an act in. Storm was about getting ready to scream. That or go digging under Taylor's suit coat for the gun she was sure was hidden there and put a bullet in the loudmouth woman's head.

She felt Taylor's hand grab hers under the skirt of her dress and give it a calming squeeze, like he was agreeing with Storm that her aunt was out of line but that it wouldn't be worth the fight to tell her that. She shot him a thankful look in the dark and then fought laughter about how the two of them must look.

Neither of them had any business being where they were, dressed how they were, or doing what they were doing.

"So, you two been together long?" Storm's aunt asked. It was pretty clear she was looking down her nose at Taylor.

"Oh, we're not together." Storm answered glibly, earning a questioning look from Taylor and a speculative one from Teddy. "I'm just using him for sex."

Taylor made a choking noise and looked at Storm in shock. Both of them looked at Storm's Aunt Theresa to find her mouth hanging open. Taylor then looked at Teddy as though to tell the other man it wasn't true. Teddy caught the look then looked at Storm.

"That is just the kind of thing you can't say tonight Storm. I let you get away with a lot because your mother was my sister and you tend to make me laugh and come up with good plans but you can't run that smart mouth in here tonight."

"I know that but she was intentionally being rude." Storm answered back, talking like her aunt wasn't even in the car. "I mean really! The tone of her voice was enough to make me wish I hadn't had to leave my Glock home with Pop." Teddy's wife took in a sharp breath at the insult.

"Storm! Enough." Teddy raised his normally calm voice. Taylor squeezed Storm's hand a bit harder, like he was telling her to let it go and not make it a war on his behalf. She looked at him and Taylor could see the argument was over more then her aunt's treatment of him, that it was over a whole bunch of unsettled family history. He leaned over close to Storm and whispered in her ear.

"Let it go Storm. Not worth it. Let's just get this night over ok?"

Storm nodded sharply and Teddy watched with interest and Taylor calmed and in Teddy's mind, controlled his niece. Storm reached up behind Taylor's head to bring him closer to her so she could whisper directly in his ear.

"My Aunt Theresa steps outta line one more time and I'm icin her."

Taylor chuckled despite her audacity. "I don't think even you could get away with it." He leaned in closer still so he could whisper to her and be sure no one else would hear. "I think Teddy would have long ago if he thought he could pull it off." Storm giggled. No doubt it was quite true. The woman had a mouth like a shrew.

"I think there's a lot I _could_ get away with though, don't you?" Storm raised an eyebrow in question as she trailed her hand back down from behind Taylor's head down his chest and back into her own lap. She was pushing both her aunt and uncle's buttons and loving every second of it. Taylor cleared his throat uncomfortably. He wanted to take her to task for messing with his livelihood but he sensed with Teddy in the car with them was not the right time.

"It looks that way." Taylor sat back and watched downtown New York slide by.

"How'd you get suckered into this mess Taylor?" Teddy asked. While the question was posed in a familiar tone Taylor could hear the undertones were not half so benign. Teddy did not appreciate seeing his niece dating on the wrong side of the nationality line one bit. He was more hinting that it better not be over any real interest in Storm.

"Matty was outta town, he asked me to go in his place."

"Storm, you don't have anyone to date other then your own brother or his friends he suckers into the role for you? You need to start spending more time with your cousins. Lindsey is only 18 and she has all the boys after her already."

"I just bet she does Theresa. Those kind of girls often do." Storm smiled sweetly at her aunt.

"Teddy! Does that niece of yours have any manners at all? I told you that it would only come to no good to send a young girl home to Benny to raise. She's just as rough if not rougher then he is and it shows. She acts like she was raised in a barn!"

"That's it!" Storm shrieked and started hunting under Taylor's jacket for the pistol she was sure he would have hidden there. At first Taylor was too confused about what she was doing to stop her and then shocked at her audacity. That and the fact she thought he was stupid enough to be packing heat to a charity function.

"Both of you sit down and shut up!" Teddy in a rage was only slightly less intimidating then Benny. "Storm, you are almost unlikeable right now. I will be telling your father about this. And you," Teddy turned to his wife, "are deliberately antagonizing her. The only people acting sane in this whole car are the men. So sit back and behave like ladies until the end of this night."

"_I'm_ almost unlikeable? That's fucken rich." Storm looked out the window. She was so mad she didn't know if she was closer to spitting or crying. Her aunt always treated her like crap but it wasn't Theresa who got nailed for it. Storm, being Storm, and therefore unable to control herself looked at her uncle with a death glare. "You think you'll be telling my dad about this, well not if I tell him first! You guys took me in when I was 8 and kept me till I was 11 when my dad got out of jail. It was good of you, ok, I admit it. But you also spent the whole time trying to change who I was and keeping me from my own brother. So please don't expect me to be all that grateful for it."

Teddy just looked between his wife and niece with an unreadable look on his face. Theresa looked like she wanted to say more but didn't know how well Teddy would take it so she kept her mouth shut. Storm stared out the window wishing the ride over. The only thing keeping her out of very girlish tears was the warmth of Taylor's leg pressed against hers and the heat of him warming her. As though he knew that he slid his arm very casually across the back of the seat behind Storm. He toyed with one of her curls behind her back where her uncle wouldn't see. Uncaring of what Teddy saw Storm lay her head down on Taylor's shoulder and closed her eyes. Taylor looked down into her face and as though seeing something there he didn't like he did nothing and just took his turn staring out the car window.

How had a night that was supposed to be a fairytale evening of playing at being something she wasn't turn into a stressful airing of dirty family laundry? Storm wondered. No evening starting with Theresa had ever had a chance of being fun and Storm figured she shoulda known that. She twisted on her seat a bit, her tight dress making it hard to find a comfortable spot on the slick leather upholstery. She managed and must have drifted off because the next thing she knew Taylor was waking her up.

"We're almost there Storm. You ready?"

She yawned, one blue satin gloved hand covering her mouth. "Did I fall asleep?"

"I suppose so." Taylor answered. They pulled up to the glitzy hotel where the function was being held and waited for their car to get to the head of the line so the doorman would let them out and they could make their entrance.

Teddy and Theresa left the car first, Teddy stopping to hand his wife out like the gentleman he was so good at playing. They smiled and walked up the red carpet path toward the door and Storm was glad to see her father had been right and the press was more interested in some artist and his entourage who'd arrived just ahead of them. Storm let Taylor leave the car first and help her out. As they walked up the carpet path it was all Storm could do not to fall down off her shoes. She hesitated at the base of the stairs.

"It's ok, we won't see much of Teddy and his wife now." Taylor murmured, trying to reassure Storm in what he assumed was her reluctance to be conscious in her aunt's presence.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm scared I'm gonna trip up the stairs." Storm admitted in a whisper. "I never had to walk in heels before and it sucks ass."

Taylor chuckled. She was an angel. Until she opened her mouth and ruined the allusion totally. "I'll just pretend I'm really a gentleman then and hold onto your elbow til we're up the stairs, ok?"

"I guess." Storm allowed Taylor to escort her up the stairs and was relieved to reach the top. They made it into the ballroom without incident and found their table where Teddy and Theresa were already seated. They found their seats under Demaret and sat. Storm was relieved to have the seat next to her uncle and glad this meant Taylor was on her opposite side and no where near Teddy. Storm looked around the room and found they were attracting a fair amount of attention.

"Why are so many people staring at us? I mean, doesn't that guy over there make Hollywood movies? Shouldn't they be more interested in him?" Storm was slightly mad her dad had misled her how much attention would be on them. She hoped she still came away from this evening able to live her life without the whole world knowing who she was.

"There's always curiosity about an unknown beautiful woman Storm." Teddy answered. Storm heard her aunt huff at the compliment.

"You scared what my daddy's gonna say when I tell him how you and her treated me in the car?" Storm asked with a sickly sweet smile. She didn't for a second believe her uncle was really paying her a compliment.

"Benny will not be pleased about you acting like you would shoot my wife Stormianna, don't kid yourself."

"No, but he won't be pleased about how Theresa talked to me either. When it all boils down to it he sees you as his employee before he sees you as my uncle and you know it."

"Do we have to fight about this again now?" Teddy was getting really angry and Storm really didn't want more attention on them then there already was.

"No we don't because I'm going to take a walk." Storm said and stood abruptly.

"I'll go with you." Taylor said as he stood up too. "Benny told me to keep an eye on you wearin all that."

"You just didn't want to be alone with them." Storm accused as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Blame me?"

"No. Not a bit. I can't believe she would go on about who I chose to date not being good enough in front of my date. God!"

"You know what it means to them Storm. Like it or no, you'd be a valuable bargaining chip to your old man and you're just lucky that he doesn't use you that way. You got off good with Benny 'Chains'. Teddy's all business when it comes to the business. They don't want you runnin around with someone who'll never be made."

"Who I run around with isn't up to them or my dad and the daughter of theirs they compared me unfavourably to is a slut." If Storm wasn't mistaken Taylor looked decidedly uncomfortable with talk of her cousin Lindsey. "Do you know about that first hand Taylor Reese?"

"No." Taylor cleared his throat. "But me'n Matty mighta ran into her once and she mighta came on to me. I was too smart to do anything about it. Not with Teddy Deserve's kid."

"I see. You think she's prettier then me?" Storm loved to see Taylor squirm. She was pretty much just pushing his buttons to see how uncomfortable she could make him. He totally turned the tables with his answer.

"No." He looked away, but not before Storm saw the intensity shining in his black eyes. She decided to change the subject.

"So, why do you think my brother had to go outta town? He tryin for a job outta the city?"

"I don't know." Taylor looked down at Storm again. "He didn't tell me."

"Strange for him not to tell one of us what he was up to. Matty normally tells me everything. And what he leaves out he tells you."

"Maybe it's a surprise then."

"Yeah maybe."

Storm and Taylor ran into Devon and his raven haired date right around then.

"Storm! You look fabulous!" Devon gushed as he air kissed her on both cheeks and Storm returned the greeting.

"Thank you. I owe it all to you. You picked out a winner this time Devon. I'm sure you remember Taylor Reese?"

"Of course. Pleasure to see you again Mr. Reese." Devon was on his best behaviour in the social situation. He'd grown up in them and his manners were impeccable.

"Taylor." The two men shook hands and Devon introduced his date. Storm recognized her name. She was the oldest daughter of one of New York's most prominent business men. The four of them made small talk for a few minutes before Devon informed them it was time for dinner to be served. They broke up with a commitment to meet up after the meal to chat some more.

Dinner was a tense affair. Storm tried her best to ignore her uncle and when it wasn't possible was coolly polite. Her manners were impeccable but her anger still shone through. Taylor was just, well, Taylor and didn't say much of anything. Of course anyone who knew him wouldn't have been able to say if it was just Taylor being himself or if the tension kept him quiet as well.

After the meal was cleared they were sitting at their table with several other members of New York's lesser known nouveau riche. Storm could only theorize that her aunt had decided enough time had gone by as to make it safe to start in on Storm again.

"Your uncle has several eligible men here tonight he'd like you to meet Arabella."

"It's Storm and I have an eligible date already."

"You're too old for nicknames now dear. I know it was cute when you were a toddler but a woman of your age should have a proper name."

"My mother named me and if it was proper enough for her then it's fine for me. She was the _boss's_ wife, something you'll never be." The insult wasn't lost on Theresa.

"And if she hadn't died, god rest her soul, you might have been brought up a lady instead of a tramp who runs around town with the hired help pretending that it doesn't matter."

Taylor never flinched, never showed shock, didn't react. How Storm envied him his stoicism. She wasn't able to hold her rage inside. How dare Theresa imply Taylor was less then her equal just because of his heritage.

"You're only around here because Teddy married you for your father's connections! I don't have to worry about it because my father's already the boss. I'll date whoever I want and Taylor was Matty's best friend during a time when you were going out of your way to terrorize him. He looked out for me during the same time and I'm sick to death of this bullshit." Storm stood up. "I'm going for a walk to calm down and god help you if I don't manage!" With an angry noise full of her rage Storm stalked off as fast as her uncomfortable shoes would allow. When she reached the outdoor terrace off the ballroom she pulled her cell phone out of her little purse and called her brother's number, her rage making the numbers hard to see straight.

Matty answered on the second ring. His familiar voice calmed her temper a few notches as soon as she heard it.

"Matty, why did you let me do this? Why didn't you tell me to back out before it was too late?"

"Do what Storm? What happened?" Storm could hear the beginnings of panic in Matty's voice. He was no doubt worried that she'd gone and done something foolish like bring a gun to the event and get caught with it. That or use it to kill their aunt, a threat she'd made several times before in the past.

"You let me go someplace with Theresa in tow. The woman hasn't shut up about what a failure I am or how unsuitable Taylor is since I got here. I'm about ready to kill her Matty. I swear to god. And Teddy! Teddy's just being Teddy, letting her say what she wants. No wonder dad wanted out."

"You been there a few hours Storm, just leave. Call pops to come get you."

"I don't want to be a failure Matty." Storm whispered. "Calling Dad will be like admitting I couldn't pull this off. I don't want her to win but…"

"You thought you were doin good and it's not good enough for her?"

"Yeah."

"Where's Taylor?"

"Oh shit! I left him with her. I'm such a bitch. She's no doubt ripping him to pieces right now over daring to come out anywhere with someone so out of his league. She's such a whor…"

"Storm, just go find Taylor and leave before you do something you can't undo ok?" Matty sighed. "You want me to call pop for you and have him pick you up?"

"No, I'll do it. I should go Matty."

"Ok. Bye sis, behave."

"A'ight, but only cause you asked me to." Storm hung up and put her phone away. She started to turn away from the rail to go 'save' Taylor from her family when she felt someone walk up behind her.

"You ok?" Taylor was standing so close behind her she felt his words rumble around in her chest too. She closed her eyes to savour the moment before she answered.

"Yeah. Sorry I left you with the wicked witch."

"It's ok. You talked to Matty?"

"Yeah. He thinks we should leave before I kill her."

"Might be a plan. You wanna leave?"

"No. I don't want her to win. My dad asked me to do this and I'd like to see it through."

"Well, we could just go find your buddy again and avoid your family for the rest of the night."

"Good idea. Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for how she's talkin to you. It really wasn't fair of Matty to ask this of you. He knew how she'd be." Taylor put his hands on Storm's shoulders and gave a soft squeeze.

"I know what I am Storm and I made peace with it a long time ago. I shoulda known better then to agree to come. They're only sayin what your whole family, father included is gonna think about you'n me Storm and you know it anyway."

"Yeah, but they don't want me in the business and I'm not gonna let them drag me in against my will to be uses as a pawn so I really don't care what they think of who I'm seen with. I'm just sorry that it could mess up what you got goin with Teddy."

"He knows he needs me around so I'm not too worried. Let's go find your friend." Taylor held out his arm to Storm and she took it.

"Where'd you learn all this gentlemen stuff Tay?"

"My mom."

Storm let it go. There was a band striking up dancing when they re-entered the room.

"You wanna dance?" Taylor asked, just wanting to put the fun loving sparkle that had been in Storm's eyes at the first of the night when she'd shocked him with her appearance.

"Um…" Storm's eyes wouldn't meet his.

"What?"

"I don't know how to dance like this."

"Well, if you'd be willing to take the woman's role just this once," Taylor smiled down at Storm and winked, "and let me lead, I do know how to dance like this."

"You do?"

"That mother of mine trying to make a gentleman out of me." He held a hand out to Storm and was slightly surprised when she took it. She helped her put her hand in the right place on his shoulder and when the music started they started to move. She let him lead and as involved as they were with each other they missed all the looks they received. They made quite the couple.

xox

"She looks good with him." Teddy said to his wife as they watched their niece dance with Taylor.

"Don't be silly Ted, she can't be with him."

"No, I guess not. But they still look good together."

Theresa only huffed and looked away. Teddy watched the couple with a speculative gleam in his eyes.

xox

After a few dances Storm's feet were literally in agony and her head was splitting. Like Taylor knew she was reaching the end of her tether he led her toward the exit.

"Where we goin?" She asked, curious as they left the room and started toward the hotel front door through the lobby.

"You'll see." Taylor refused to answer any more of her questions as he led her down the stairs to the sidewalk below and then off down the street. He turned into an alley and there was his van. "I thought you might wanna escape early so I stashed this here for our get away vehicle." Storm laughed and allowed herself to be helped into the high passenger seat. It was so high that Taylor had to lift her in, her fitted dress not allowing her enough mobility to climb up. Taylor walked around the front and got in. Starting the van and reversing out of the alley he took off down the street and started to take off his bowtie and suit jacket with a sigh.

Following his lead Storm took off her restrictive shoes and sighed. "I wish you had told me you were gonna do this. I woulda gave you a bag with a change of clothes in it for me. At least you can take off half your stuff. I'm stuck like this until I get home."

"Should I just take you home then?" Taylor asked.

"You have other plans?" Storm asked, curious and thinking from his tone there was something. All he'd do to answer was shrug. "Well then I'm in your hands. Do what you will."

Taylor gave her a look that told her he knew how strange it was for her to put herself at someone else's mercy. They pulled up to a 5 story brick building in a fairly bad part of Brooklyn a few minutes later.

"Where are we?" Storm asked.

"My place." Taylor answered as he hopped out of the van and came around to her side. Storm went to put her shoes back on with a groan. She didn't want to force her feet back into them at all. She was never wearing heels again. She had her shoes in her hand when Taylor opened her door and picked her up over his shoulder.

"Taylor put me down. You can't carry me around."

"I think I can." Taylor chuckled and walked up to his door, leaving Storm beating his back with her shoes trying to get him to set her down. He carried her thusly up three stories worth of stairs and then set her down in front of his door while he got his keys out.

"That wasn't fair." Storm said, but it was obvious her angry look was just for show.

"I know. I don't do fair." Taylor answered and then opened the door and pushed Storm through.

His place was clean but it was obvious that the furnishings had seen a lot of use. Everything had a sort of well cared for but well used feeling to it, from the chair with the worn arms with bits of stuffing sticking out to the third or forth hand TV stand. Storm headed to a big velour couch with nothing else in mind but sinking into its comfort. It was one of those fluffy looking seats you just knew would swallow you up into a big body conforming hug. She needed to just be comfortable for awhile after her night.

"You want a drink?" Taylor called from his kitchen.

"Yeah! Whatever you're having." Storm called back. He re-entered the room carrying a large glass of soda and a beer. He handed her the soda. Storm's nose told her there was a very large shot of rum in it. "You know me pretty good don't you Tay?" Storm asked, grinning. Even though she'd told him whatever he was having he'd known she didn't like beer.

"Not even close. But no one could miss how you yowled about the grossness of beer when Matty spilled one on you that time in Pizzo's."

"Oh yeah. So you got a nice place here." Storm took in the fact that Taylor was in a one of his own pairs of well worn jeans and a knit shirt with a look of envy. How unfair it was he had an apartment full of his own clothes and she was stuck in her dress, not even able to pull her feet up under her and sit curled up like she was so inclined to do. Like Taylor caught the jealous look he stood up.

"You want to wear some of my stuff while you're here, so you'll be more comfortable?"

"If you wouldn't mind." Storm replied on a sigh of relief. She'd figured he'd never ask.

"I'll be right back." Taylor got up and headed toward the back of the place, where she figured the bedroom was. Instead of waiting for him to come back Storm got up off the couch and followed him. He had his back to her since his dresser was against the wall opposite the door. She took in the brick outer walls and plaster inner walls of the room and the dark blue covers on the bed with one glance. The room was very invocative of Taylor himself. It suited him. She leaned on the doorframe and sipped her drink as she watched him rummage. He turned to find Storm standing in the door of his room, glass in hand staring at him.

"I figured that you could help me with my zipper." Storm answered his unspoken question as she set the glass down on the tall dresser on the wall beside the door. "I had the devil's own time getting it done up. I'll never get it down."

"Ok." Taylor answered, not sure what else to say and watched as Storm presented her back to him and swept her hair out of the way so he could find her zipper. He undid it. She made no move to catch her dress when the zipper allowed the strapless gown to slide down her to pool at her feet on the floor leaving her in only her fancy underclothes and a fortune of diamonds.

She let her hair down and turned around to face Taylor. She was happy to see the stunned look on his face. She started taking the pins out of her hair.

Taylor tried not to look at her, he really did, but he couldn't help himself. He took in her push up bra and tried to fight his feelings. His eyes moved lower to the scrap of blue material covering her other private areas, partially concealed by, wonder of wonders an honest to god garter belt. The blue and white set off her skin, making it look darker then it really was, almost as dark as his own.

"That is so much better." Storm purred as she got the last of her hair down out of the pins. "Those things were pinching."

Taylor took a step closer and ran a finger down her cheek. "You're playing with fire here Storm."

"I know." She looked composed, very sure of what she wanted. "Think I'm gonna get burned?"

Taylor only growled in answer as he dropped the tee shirt and shorts he'd picked out for Storm and reached around her to turn out the light.

xox

Benny checked the clock on the wall. It was after two am and Storm had never made it home. He'd expected her by 12. He gave up on waiting for her with a sigh and went to bed. She'd likely decided to go party with her car racing friends afterward to get over the distaste of her aunt. Benny headed to bed.

When he woke up and Storm was still no where to be found and her bed hadn't been slept in he called Teddy.

"How'd it go?" Benny asked, staring the conversation.

"About like you'd think with Storm and her aunt in the same room." Teddy sighed.

"You's didn't kill Storm did you?"

"No. Why?"

"She never came home last night."

"She left around 11 with Taylor. I don't know how they got around or where they went. She never even told me she was leaving."

"Left with Taylor huh?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, I'll see you at Giando's later." Benny hung up and dialled his daughter's cell phone number.

xox

The distinct sound of 'Hail to the Chief' playing in a monotone cell phone ring woke Storm up. Her eyes blinked open and she squinted in the bright morning sunlight. She looked at the dark caramel arm wrapped around her waist in slight confusion until the night before came back to her. She could feel Taylor's warm breath on the back of her neck and realized he was laying on some of her hair.

The phone continued to ring unabated but she couldn't get up with her hair pinned under Taylor's bulk. The ringing stopped and Storm put her head back down on a pillow that smelled distinctly of Taylor and wigged back into his warmth just a bit closer with a contented sigh. His arm tightened around her waist for a brief second before he flipped onto his back and opened his eyes with a groan. "That was your dad callin wasn't it?"

"How'd ya guess?"

"Hail to the Chief? Who else would that ring tone be for?" Taylor's morning voice was almost impossible to understand.

"I guess." Storm giggled. "Well, I'll have to call him back, and by now he knows I didn't make it home last night. What do I tell him?"

"You went out with friends after the charity thing and everyone got too drunk to drive home."

"I don't have a better idea." Storm rolled over onto her elbow so she could look down at Taylor where he lay, eyes closed again against the world. His eyes opened like he felt her looking at him.

"'Mornin." He growled, looking at Storm in a way she couldn't read.

"Hey." She replied softly and allowed him to guide her head back down to his for a good morning kiss.

Some time later Taylor watched Storm get up, wearing nothing but his Yankees tee shirt, and pad out to his living room barefoot. She was back a moment later with her phone in hand. She sat back down on the bed and hit redial. Her phone dialled home.

"Demaret." Came a curt answer.

"Hey pop."

"Stormianna!" Storm held the phone away from her ear due to her father's loud tone. "Where the fuck were you last night."

"Sorry bout that pop. I went to a party and then we all got too drunk to drive. I shoulda called I guess but I didn't know if you'd be asleep or not. 'Sides, I'm old enough to stay out all night ain't I?"

"I guess." Benny grumbled. "As long as you're ok."

"I'm fine."

"When you coming home?"

"Soon. I'll see you soon." Storm hung up. Then she started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Taylor asked, not seeing the humour, seeing only the potential of ending up dead. Storm flopped back on the bed beside him again, still laughing uproariously.

"Here I am, 20 years old and lying to my old man about why I don't come home at night."

"Here I am, in the situation of being killed by your old man over the lies."

"Don't be silly. He'd never kill you."

Taylor didn't look sure. "What are you gonna wear home?"

"Your shirt and a pair of your pants?"

"My pants'll fall right off you. Might have a pair of shorts that'll fit you enough. But how are you gonna explain to your dad me bringing you home, in my clothes with your own in your hands?"

"Tay you worry too much. Take me to breakfast before you take me home."

Taylor looked at Storm in shock at her order. "Take you to breakfast? While you wear my boxer shorts and tee shirt? Where can I take you that that'll be ok?"

"I don't know but I'm hungry."

"I'll make you breakfast then." Taylor got out of bed and Storm admired his naked walk across the room to his shorts.

"You can cook?" She asked as she stood up and followed him out to the kitchen. He didn't answer but got to work and set a western omelette and a glass of orange juice down in front of her a few minutes later. He set a much larger portion in front of himself and started to eat. Since it didn't look like he was in danger of dropping dead any time soon Storm dug in. She was very pleasantly surprised. "This is good."

Taylor only grunted in reply. Storm enjoyed both the food and the scenery as Taylor ate at his small kitchen table in his shorts. Just as they were finishing up there was a knock at the door. Taylor went to get it with a look at Storm she knew was warning her to stay put while he got rid of who ever was there.

When Storm heard the voice of the person at the door her jaw dropped. Leave it to Matty to show up at Taylor's now. She heard Matty's voice get louder and clearer as he had clearly forced his way into Taylor's house and headed to the kitchen.

"Have you seen my sister Taylor? Where'd you leave her last night? Dad said she never came home from the party and now no one knows where she is." Matty walked past the kitchen door on his way to the living room and then walked back to fill the kitchen door in a double take.

"Hey bro." Storm tried to remain nonchalant about being in Taylor's kitchen wearing Taylor's underwear.

"Storm?" Matty turned bright red. Storm finished her breakfast and stood up.

"This is convenient. You can drive me home." Storm kissed her brother on his cheek, gathered up her stuff and forced her feet into 'the shoes from hell'. Matty just looked so shocked he had nothing to say. Taylor was looking somewhere between pleased and embarrassed and Storm was the only one totally acting herself. "You ready?" She asked Matty.

"I guess so." Matty said as he opened the apartment door. Storm went to follow him out. She turned at the door to find Taylor right behind her.

"I had a…nice time." Storm said.

"Yeah. Me too." Taylor answered, all too aware of Matty standing right behind his sister. "I'll call you."

"Better." Storm answered cheekily and reached up, intending on kissing Taylor on his cheek goodbye. He turned his head so she hit his mouth. Standing back on her flat feet she licked her lips with an eyebrow raised. Taylor's only answer was to copy her cocked brow. With a laugh Storm started down the hall, leaving Matty to follow.


	9. Bullets and Bruises

**Velocity Shift**

By _-TempestRaces_

Ch.8 –**Bullets and Bruises**

"Please tell me you'n Taylor didn't…" Matty trailed off with a wave of his hand, filling in his verbal blanks.

"A lady never kisses and tells." Storm smiled like a cat into the cream and sat back in the smooth leather seat of Matty's car. She closed her eyes and took a deep nasal breath to just enjoy the leather aroma. It was mixed in this case with the smell of Taylor. Both off his clothes and off her own skin. "I know I'm not a lady but even still, I'll never tell." Her attitude and actions told louder then her confirming words would have anyway.

"God Storm, you're playing with fire here." Matty sighed. Storm fought a giggle at his choice of words. She'd played with fire last night, and she'd never felt better. "I came home early just because I was worried about you and then Dad tells me you never came home last night."

"Well, you know now I was safe so don't sweat it."

"What are you gonna tell Pop? He's gonna flip out."

"_We_ are gonna tell him you picked me up at a friend's because I called you for a drive. He'll cope. Better that than driving home drunk right?"

"Of course. But Storm, you don't look hung over."

"I'm not. I wasn't really drinking last night. Just the one drink that Tay made me."

"Now he's Tay?" Matty asked in agitation. "Storm you can't do this. It's only gonna end badly for both of you."

"You don't know that. Besides, I never said I wanted to marry the guy. He's still annoying as fucken hell. But he's also sweet in his own way and the best kisser I've ever met." Storm sighed dreamily. _Best kisser among other things_.

"Sis, that would count as a total over-share. I don't need to know. Bad enough Dad's gonna know that last night wasn't as benign as passing out at someone's house for you."

Storm make a noise between her front teeth her brother recognized as her saying 'no way, don't worry about it.' "How would he know that?"

"'Member what I told you about Taylor and your neck? Last night was no different then last time." Matty had turned slightly red again. Storm flipped down her visor and looked at herself. Her neck was in fact quite noticeably marked. She cursed Taylor under her breath as she surveyed the damage. Not that she would have changed anything about last night no matter how many little bruises she ended up with.

"Well, he doesn't need to know it was Taylor now does he? I'll tell him I don't remember who I made out with." Matty gave Storm an incredulous look. He really didn't think that was the lesser of the two evils. "I mean, he doesn't need to know anything other then I made out with some random guy then fell asleep at a friend's. That's if he even notices before I get upstairs and get some makeup on it."

"He was pretty much flippen out this morning sis, ranting and raving about where you were and what you were doin. If he doesn't mug us at the door I'll about die of shock. You, if you might recall, have never 'not come home' at night without letting him know before."

"Correction. I have never 'not come home' at night and gotten caught because I normally lock my door and go out the window. You guys just assume I'm asleep too deep to hear you knocking."

"How many times have you done that?" Matty looked shocked, like he honestly hadn't known. Since he knew his sister better then anyone else that worried him. He knew she was up to things but not that she'd go out and leave no one the wiser where she was. What if she ever just didn't come home some night? No one would know what happened to her or where to start looking if no one knew she was even out.

"Well, the night you came to see me, the night of the storm?"

"Yeah…"

"I'd just crawled in and changed a few minutes before you knocked."

"Oh man sis, if Pop catches you, you'll catch hell."

"Matty, I'm 20 years old. I can pretty much move out if I want. But rents cheap with dad and the house is so big it's not like I have to see that much of him anyways."

"I know what you mean. It's just," Matty paused and sighed worriedly. "I don't know where you think this thing with you and Taylor can go and I just don't think it's gonna be good for either of you. Especially you, if Pop gets wind of it."

"Matty D, you worry too much. Let me do me. I'll come out on top. I always do."

"Like you came out on top of implying you'd kill Theresa? Don't think pop's forgotten that little issue either." Matty grimaced and even Storm cringed slightly.

Matty pulled the car up to their house and parked at the front door. They walked up the front step side by side and Matty opened the door. Storm made a dash up the stairs. She almost made it to the top. But not quite.

"Stormianna Demaret!"

"Fuck. Va a farti fottere!" Storm muttered to herself. She turned around slowly, arms full of Gucci. "Hey pop." She forced a smile to her lips.

"Where were you last night?"

"I crashed at a friend's last night. We were all drunk, no one to drive me home. I said I was sorry I didn't call you."

"What friend's did you stay at?" Benny looked even more upset then Matty had lead Storm to believe. Storm froze. Tell him Taylor's or tell him no one he knew? Would it be better to be honest and tell him Taylor's or would it be better to try and get away with lying to her dad? Something she'd heard around the scene over and over again kept playing in her head.

You don't lie to Benny 'Chains' and live to tell about it.

But did that apply to her? Maybe. Ok, no it didn't. He'd never kill her. But she was willing to bet she wasn't too old or large for him to attempt to pull over his knee for a sound spanking. What about Taylor if her dad knew where she stayed the night? Would Taylor catch hell over it? Again the answer was maybe. There were a lot of unknowns in the situation. Matty was looking at his feet so no help there.

"What does it matter?" Storm hedged with a shrug, trying to just avoid an answer if she could.'

"Come here a second." Benny called, staring at Storm intently. She internalized her groan.

"Dad, I'm actually tired and cranky that I missed out on my own bed last night. I didn't get a lot of sleep. Can whatever wait until after I shower and nap?"

"It'll only take a second."

"Then it can wait pop."

"Storm!" Benny was starting to get exasperated. Catch .22 was, so was Storm.

"Dad! Listen, I only went to that silly event because you asked me too. It sucked, I hated it, had a horrible, stressful time and I went out to blow some of it off afterward. Now since I only did what I did on your behalf can I have a few hours to myself? Please?" Storm cocked her head to the side, put a hand on her hip and stared down at her father.

"Fine!" Benny exclaimed, clearly not happy about giving in. "Do what you want. You will anyway. But we will talk about some things. Don't leave this house until you see me. Got it Storm?"

"I hear ya old man. You'd swear I was 2 not 20."

"That's 'cause you act like it half the time." Benny called on his way back to his office in the rear of the house. Matty watched him go and watched as Storm flipped him off the second their father couldn't see her. He followed his sister up the stairs.

"You got off lucky."

"No kidden. I'll take a long bath, and then I might just take that nap. Then I'll go let him yell at me about Theresa."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Storm headed to her room and shut the door with a firm click and a thunk as she tumbled the lock over. Leaning against the closed door she happily sighed. Sure her life had just gotten more complicated by half, but in the long run she figured it was going to be worth it.

Who ever would have known that gruff impatient Taylor would be so good and, well, patient when it came to some things? All in all the scene with her dad had been a small one and she was sure that after he'd had more time to calm down knowing she was home safe things would be fine.

She looked at her bathroom, then her bed. Do what she told them she would, take a bath and get some rest? Or crawl down the drainpipe and take her car for a run? She scorned her bathtub and bed in favour of taking her car out for a run. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so alive, she sure didn't need a nap. Sure her dad told her not to leave until they'd spoken but he'd never know. Her car was in the garage by the back gate and she'd be in and out before he'd ever know she was gone.

She first hung up her dress, figuring there was no need of ruining it even if she was fairly sure she'd never wear it again. Then she pulled on some of her own clothes, track pants and a sports top. Grabbing her Sketchers and tying them on saw her ready to go. Ready to run as a matter of fact since essentially that was what she was doing. Running away from the unpleasant conversation she was going to have to have with her dad. She crossed to her balcony and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air.

She shimmied down the drain and darted across the expansive lawn to the garage and crept in the side door. Hauling the car cover off her Skyline she clicked the garage door and gate open as she slid into the driver seat. The car started with a roar and she backed it out of the garage. She tore off out the gate, careful to make sure the garage door and the fence gate closed again. Wouldn't do to have her father realize she was out of the house.

Before she realized it she was at Taylor's again. What the hell was she thinking going back to his place so soon? He was going to think she was desperate. Knowing this didn't stop her from locking the car and running up the three stories worth of stairs to Taylor's door. She knocked and waited for him to answer. And waited. And waited. And knocked again. All to no avail.

She knew he was home because his van was still parked down on the street. She'd parked right in front of him. She pulled her utility knife out of her pocket and got to work on his lock. In seconds she had it popped open but the safety chain was across. Since she didn't have bolt cutters on her she figured that could be an issue for her. She slipped her slim arm in and started feeling around to see if she could get the chain undone. Thankful for her small arms, which allowed her to pull the door shut enough to get enough slack to remove the chain she got the door open.

She relocked it all as soon as she was in, knowing it wasn't the kind of neighbourhood you left your doors unlocked in, even if you were at home. Only Taylor Reese would feel safe with so little protection from his locks. She'd gotten in awful easily. Now that she was in, where was Taylor? She cocked her head to the side, listening carefully to the ambient sounds of the house. There was water running. She checked the kitchen and it was spotless. No one in sight.

She wandered back toward Taylor's room and had to cross the bathroom door to get there. She found the source of the water running. Taylor was in his shower. He was also singing in what turned out to be a fairly pleasant deep baritone, surprising Storm greatly. His voice was so gravely she'd never have figured he could sing in any capacity. When she realized he was singing show tunes she almost burst out laughing. His shower curtain was practically clear and she could see him standing in the hot spray belting out 'Luck be a Lady' while he washed as the steam billowed up around him and over the top of the curtain, filling the bathroom with humidity despite the open door. Finding him in the shower was better then the worry that had been nagging her since he'd failed to answer his door, that she'd find him with another woman already.

She leaned on the frame of the door to the bathroom and just watched him wash and sing with a smile for how cute he was playing around her expressive mouth. She fought the need to join in with him, knowing the words herself. He finished the song and shut off the water. Storm couldn't help it, it was like the Devil took over her hands and she started to clap for his performance. He spun on her and tore the curtain back, ready to beat the shit out of who ever had snuck into his home and dared to invade his privacy. When he saw who it was his anger didn't really go away.

Of course it was more based on the fact that seeing her standing there in her low rider track pants and little cropped athletic top had him wanting her again and she'd only left an hour and a half ago. He wrapped a towel around his waist and looked at Storm again, anger flashing in his black eyes.

"How'd you get in here?"

"You should really think about a better lock for the door and using a bar instead of a chain. It wasn't hard at all to get past." She smirked as she told him of breaking into his house. She was a most unconventional female, Taylor mused even as he fumed.

"Most people wouldn't dare break in here, that's why."

"I am _not_ most people." Storm cocked a brow and licked her bottom lip unconsciously before catching it between her teeth. So she was slightly nervous about what his reaction to her getting in to his house without an invitation was gonna be. Good enough for her.

The retort no kidden came to mind but Taylor didn't say it. It did enter his head to send her home before she got caught here, before she landed them both into the hot water they'd avoided by Matty's timely arrival but he couldn't do it. He hated the fact she could make him want her so bad in the same thought as he was secretly glad someone could make him feel an emotion that wasn't anger again.

"You know what's gonna happen to you comin here unannounced and alone like this?"

"No, show me." Storm ordered with her usual amount of arrogance. It came from being the boss's daughter but it also just came from her own personality. She could no more help it then she could give up breathing.

Or give up Taylor.

Both were ingrained into her very being now. There was no getting them out. It almost gave her vertigo to think how long it had taken for the arrogance to become part of who she was and how very short a time it had taken for Taylor to be that ingrained. How had he gotten so deep so fast? She watched as he stalked up to her like a jungle cat. Hugely muscled but defiantly graceful, despite his bulk.

Show her she said. Oh he'd show her alright.

She watched again as his mouth found hers, felt the drops of water from his skin soak into her clothes. She didn't care. Her focus revolved around the points where her skin met his and nothing else in the world had relevance. It would all have to wait until the feeling of him on her wasn't eclipsing everything else.

xox

"Why'd you come back here so soon? I said I'd call you and I would have." Taylor murmured as he played with one of Storm's errant curls some time later. Her hair was everywhere around them but he didn't care. He was feeling pretty mellow as a matter of fact. That was, he felt mellow when he didn't think of how panicked he felt that not only had he let Storm stay after she'd broken in, but that he was also glad she was there.

"I don't know why really. I got in a fight with Dad about not calling or coming home last night as soon as Matty and I walked in the house. I got away from him without telling him much of anything but he ordered me not to leave the house until after we'd talked, no doubt about Theresa and I and what I said to her last night. I told him and Matty I was gonna have a shower and a nap but I didn't feel like being stuck in the house. I was just gonna take the car for a tear but before I knew it I was here."

"Um" Taylor grunted a noncommittal response.

"I just didn't want to face it I guess so I ran. Plus I wasn't really ready to leave when my brother showed up but it seemed like the best time to take off. I knew if Matty drove me home I could leave you outta it."

"Yeah, but now your car is parked out front."

"Yeah, yeah it is." Storm said and sighed. She had no real desire to leave any time soon but she knew her dad was gonna catch her gone if she put it off too much longer. She pushed herself up off Taylor's broad chest with a groan. Her body felt like her bones had melted and she really had no desire to leave the warm shell they'd created in Taylor's bed.

"Where you goin?" Taylor asked, and then wished he could take it back because he sounded needy, like he just didn't want her to go.

"Bathroom." She called back as she walked out of his room. Taylor didn't answer, just threw an arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the reality of what he'd done. Of course the more real problem was who he'd done, he thought crudely. He heard his shower start and checked the clock.

Damn, he had someplace to be in a very short amount of time. And since he now smelled like Storm's perfume again, and the meeting he had to keep was with her uncle, he figured now he needed a shower too. He got out of his bed and walked in the bathroom to find Storm already in his shower singing some song to herself.

"_I could call you my baby boy, you could call me your baby girl, maybe we could spend some time, I could be your sunshine_." She had an airy, pleasant though not anything spectacular soprano voice. He realized she was dancing in the shower too. She was quite the character.

"You almost done? I got places to be." He called after he watched her wash her hair with some of his soap. He didn't keep shampoo because he had no need of it. He knew it was the wrong thing to say the minute it left his mouth but he couldn't take it back. He could only blame it on the things watching her wash her long hair did to his brain.

The water shut off and one wet arm reached out for a towel. He rubbed his head as he mentally kicked himself. She walked out of the tub with the towel around her hair of all things and brushed past him, not meeting his eyes. She started pulling her clothes on over her soaking wet skin.

"Storm!" Taylor called as he followed her back to his room. She held up one hand for silence as she continued dressing.

Storm couldn't believe his attitude but damn if she was sticking around to hear more of it. If he wanted to treat her and what they had like some booty call that he could end as soon as it got inconvenient she was done with him. Done in the final sense. She took the towel out of her hair as soon as she had all her clothes back on. It had taken some doing since they'd been strewn all over Taylor's room and it wasn't fun to pull them on over her tacky wet skin. She didn't know if she wanted to cry because she was so angry or because she was so hurt. Either way she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt her that badly.

She'd risked her father's wrath and Matty's disappointment because she'd just felt like she had to see him again or die and to him it was just a nice booty call. His tone had proved it quite plainly to her. She stalked past him with dripping wet hair hanging down her back and started to put her shoes on at the door.

"Storm!" Taylor called as he stalked after her.

"Save it!" She roared back. "I don't wanna hear it." Storm undid the chain, then the lock and violently hauled the heavy door open.

"Hold up!" Taylor called after her and grabbed her arm to stop her flight.

"Let. Me. Go." Storm hissed out through clenched teeth.

"Not until you listen to me."

"You have nothing to say I wanna hear. Let me go!" Storm roared and twisted her arm in such a way that he had no choice but release her. He went to chase her out into the hall but he realized he had nothing but a pair of his shorts on. The way she was running down the stairs he'd never catch her before she got outside anyway. He slammed his door shut.

"FUCK!" He roared in his empty house. He wanted to chase her home right away so they could have it out but it wasn't gonna happen. He couldn't follow her home for one thing and for another he couldn't miss out on his meeting with Teddy. He fought the urge he had to start destroying his own place in his anger and took a scalding hot shower.

He knew that punishing himself with hot water wasn't going to help the situation but he was just so irate with himself, and with Storm for showing up uninvited and making him feel so guilty. But he knew too that as pressed for time as he had been he should have put her back into her car as soon as she'd shown up. He curtly dressed and got into his van to go meet Teddy.

xox

Storm alternately cussed Taylor out in Italian and cried the whole way back to her house. She parked the car and climbed onto her balcony and let herself into her room. She headed straight to her bathroom, shedding her clothes on the way and took another shower, this one as hot as she could stand.

As she was getting dressed again in yet another set of clean clothes there was a knock at her door. She tossed it open without even bothering to ask who was there. When she saw Matty's face she burst into tears.

"What happened sis?" Matty asked, very concerned as he forced his way into her room and closed the door behind himself. Storm only shook her head in response. "Storm, come off it. There's no way you're this upset over nothing. Tell me what happened baby girl."

"Taylor happened." Storm hiccupped out as she cried on Matty's shoulder.

"How is this over Taylor? You've been home for hours. How is this over Taylor if it's just happening now?" Matty's green eyes told of his confusion. He had no idea what was going on.

Storm didn't think she could tell him. Taylor was still going to be his best friend and if she told Matty what had happened it would just make him angry at Taylor and possibly hurt their friendship. Storm didn't want that, no matter how much Taylor's callus words had hurt her.

"It's nothing Matty. Just…" She didn't know what to tell him. She'd already said it was over Taylor. How could she tell him it was nothing now?

"What is it? What did Taylor do?"

"Nothing. I just meant it's over Taylor because I don't want to go fight with Dad and the only reason why I have to is because I stayed with Taylor last night instead of coming home." Storm improvised. Matty seemed to buy it.

"Yeah, and the old man wants to see you now. Storm you should go do something with your neck before you go talk to him. I swear its worse now then when I drove you home."

"Must just be the light." Storm retorted and headed into her bathroom.

"Yeah, maybe. Don't keep the old man waiting. He's not in a good mood."

"When is he ever?" Storm sighed as she applied heavy foundation to her skin.

"Dunno." Matty shrugged and left her room.

When Storm was satisfied that her skin looked blemish free she left her room and headed down to her dad's home office. "You sent Matty to rush me along?" Storm was in a bad mood and her father was not going to be spared the brunt of it.

"Yeah, were you ever going to come down on your own?"

"Likely. You forbid me from leaving the house until we talked and I damn sure know I got stuff to do tonight and I will be leavin this house." Storm sat down in one of the chairs in front of her father's desk with a scowl, daring him to have something to say about it. It was clear she was looking for a fight.

"Storm, this attitude is what keeps you in shit." Benny sighed.

"This attitude is a direct result of people always being up in my business. I'm growin weary of it."

"I never said nothin to you yet!" Benny raised his voice slightly with his anger. "But I got lots to say so get comfortable."

"Go crazy old man. I'll just tune it out like I always do." Storm forced a yawn and looked at her nails. She knew she was pushing her father farther then even she ever had dared. She also knew it wasn't really his fault she was looking for a kill. It had been Taylor's harsh words that had set her off, but she couldn't tell her father that, and she'd always been the one who took stuff out on everyone when she was mad. She felt the presence of that line in the sand, she didn't know if she was going to be able to sit tight on her side of it this time however. She had a funny feeling that by the end of this meeting she might have her answer to what would happen if she ever crossed over it.

"Storm, what has gotten into you? This is insolent, even for you." Benny took in her hastily pony tailed hair, scruffy garage cloths and mismatched socks. Much as his daughter's fashion sense leaned toward athletic clothes or jeans she normally would have worn clean clothes to meet him. Not only that but there was a petulant pout on her mouth and her eyes were belligerent. She normally did just sit in the 'punishment' chair and let him lecture her until _he_ felt better about whatever she'd done. He knew _she_ was just humouring him and he didn't care as long as she sat there and listened, whether she cared and agreed or not. But in the harsh daylight of his office he could also see the fact that her normally unenhanced olive skin was made up, and that her green eyes were appearing even more green due to the red raw rings around them that makeup couldn't hide. There was more here then Storm simply not wanting to hear one of his 'respect your aunt' lectures.

"I just don't want to sit through yet another lecture on how I should let my aunt run her huge fuckin mouth because she kept Matty and me for three years while you didn't have no one else to ask. That woman is a whore who doesn't know when to shut up and yet I'm the one who always catches hell over saying anything back to her because she's an adult and I should show some fucken respect. What about some respect for me for a change? Well, the thing is at this point I'm an adult too and I'm sick to death of letting her talk down to me just because she's jealous my dad's the boss when her husband is an underboss who's older then you, his boss, and therefore likely never will take over the business. Why should I have to suffer just because she's old, ugly and hatein on me for being higher then her daughters by birth even though they're all married to your lieutenants."

Storm had stood up and begun to pace while she ranted and her tone got louder and louder the longer she went off.

"Storm…" Her father cautioned.

"And another thing. If I wanna show up at 3am or even the next day after I go out I'm an adult and I don't need you to tell me if I'm allowed or not. You don't do this shit to Matty. I'm sick of bowing to your every whim just because I happened to be born with two X chromosomes and therefore didn't grow a dick." Storm shrieked.

"SIT!" Benny bellowed and pointed to her vacated chair.

"NO!" She roared back. "This conversation is over." Storm moved to leave the room.

"Get back here!" Benny called. Storm turned back to face him half way to the door.

"No." She said, sounding perfectly calm.

"I have more to say to you!" Benny called and pointed back at her chair.

"_Me ne sbatto il cazzo_!" I don't give a shit, Storm roared in Italian at her father. "I'm tired of trying to be what you want me to be. I'm tired of being the good girl and caring what you think. Tired of trying to win your approval and knowing that no matter what I do it'll never be good enough to impress you. So tired of it all. It's over. I'm living my life how I want to from now on because living my life for you gets me no where but lectured in the office all the time. I just wanna live my life my way for a change."

When it became clear Storm was not going to go sit down Benny strode over to her and stood in front of her.

"What you said about your aunt and implied you would do to her was out of line. No matter how much her conduct offends you, you will not imply you would kill Teddy's wife in front of them. What you joke about to Matty I don't care about if it's in private but you will never act like a _mignotta_ in public like you did last night ever again!" Storm could not believe her own father had just called her a whore. She knew he meant how she'd talked to Teddy and Theresa, that he didn't know about her and Taylor, but she was still shocked. It was the only excuse she had for what left her mouth next because she _knew_ that she knew better.

"_Vaffanculo_!" Never before had Storm said something so very rude to her father. It was the Italian equivalent of telling him to fuck off or go fuck himself. She knew she'd essentially just taken her foot and rubbed the line out of the sand, she'd gone far beyond crossing it. When this situation was done falling out she was fairly sure there'd be a new line drawn, and that she likely wouldn't be happy with its placement. Storm watched with an odd sense of detachment as her father's eyes turned a green so dark they were almost black with his rage. She watched almost as though she was living in slow motion as his hand came up, reared back and then cracked her across her face. Like it was still slow motion she saw the anger leave his eyes to be replaced by remorse. He'd never raised a hand to her before. She was so shocked that he'd even think of hitting her she never even thought to fend off the blow like she had with Taylor.

Her cheek felt like it was on fire as her own hand flew up to cup it gently. She could feel the heat pouring off her skin and figured she'd have a nice bruise to show for it later. She felt tears filling her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and turned on her heel to leave the room before any of them spilled over. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction same as she hadn't given it to Taylor either. She walked stiffly toward the door of the office and opened the door. To Storm, it seemed like everyone was letting her down. She could deal with Taylor, but she never thought she'd see the day where her own father, the man who'd always been there for her, would turn on her, no matter how angry he was.

"God Storm, I'm sorry." Benny called after his daughter. "Please, come back and we'll talk like rational adults. Don't walk out on me now. I don't know what I-"

"I need to put something cold on this now. Maybe we'll talk later." Storm answered calmly without turning around and left the room. She didn't bother closing the door behind her.

Benny heard Matty rush up to her in the hall. He'd no doubt heard the crack the flesh on flesh contact had made. It had seemed like a gunshot to Benny as loud as it had been to him at any rate. "Storm, you ok baby girl, let me look at you." Matty's voice was full of concern.

"I'm fine Matty. I got stuff to do right now. I'll talk to you later ok?"

"Ok Storm. Don't lock your door ok? In case you fall asleep." It was clear Matty's concern was not over his sister falling asleep, but instead over his sister doing something stupid to herself. Benny wondered what Matty saw in Storm's eyes that made him feel that way. Matty knew Storm better then anyone else in the world, if Matty was that concerned over her it was for a good reason.

"Ok Matty." From the tone of Storm's voice she was already miles away in her own world. She didn't even sound like herself. Benny sank down onto his chair wearily and put his head in his hands. What had he done? How was his own little girl ever going to trust him again if after her confession she felt like she was living for everyone but herself he'd hauled off and slapped her?

Benny had taken a lot of lives in his life and he'd suffered no remorse for any of it. But he was filled with shame over what he'd just done. He'd never raised a hand to either of his children before. Not ever. He especially didn't hold with slapping a girl like he'd slapped his own daughter. She might have deserved to be pulled over his lap and soundly spanked, but never to be slapped across the face.

"What's wrong with Storm?" Matty asked as he walked in the office.

"Nothin. She'll be fine." Or at least he hoped she would. He had to get out of the house for awhile was all he could think. He stood up again and snatched up his keys. "I'm going to the hall for awhile. I'm supposed to meet Teddy there soon anyway. You stay here for Storm, ok?"

"Yeah, ok." Matty didn't for a second buy that nothing had gone down between his sister and their old man but he wasn't one to push. He watched his dad leave then went and put a movie on TV.

xox

Storm locked herself in her room despite her words to Matty and sat on her bed to have a good cry in private. Her life felt like it was in shambles all around her. She had stopped briefly to put a cold washcloth on her cheek, hoping it wouldn't swell or bruise but knowing it would anyway.

She got up to rewet her cloth with cold water and changed into her tank top and short shorts pyjamas while she was up. She knew she wouldn't be going anywhere else that night. She was just going to curl up in a ball on her bed and be miserable alone. How had a day that had started with such promise gone straight to hell in a hand basket so swiftly?

She had figured she'd cry like a baby, had tried to even, figuring it was better out of her system then in. But she couldn't cry. All she could do was lay there, curled up in the foetal position and stare out her window at the sky which had clouded over while she'd argued with her dad, feeling like nothing mattered and nothing ever would again.

Then as the sky got darker the clouds thickened and grew almost alive with the light of a pending storm she started to hope it would just tear the city apart. Maybe the destruction would make her feel some sort of fear or worry at least. As the clouds grew more luminous and the rain started Storm woke out of her almost comatose sleep and walked up to her French doors. Without a second thought she walked out into the November night in her shorts and tank top and let the rain pour down on her, hoping to feel the cold, the stinging rain, something.

_Anything._

xox

Taylor cursed for the hundredth time as he worked on his assignment from Teddy. It was collecting some money in a very bad part of town and Taylor knew he'd only been asked to do it as punishment for taking Storm out after the dinner last night.

It didn't help his mood any to know that he'd left Storm hurting when she'd rushed out of his apartment early that afternoon. He didn't know what to do about it. He had no idea. He'd never had a desire to have a girl around for longer then one night before. In his usual circumstances he'd be just as happy she'd left his life after such as short amount of time with such a relatively small scene.

But instead the anger had put him off his game all day long. He'd been even shorter with the scumbags he was down here to deal with then he normally would have been. He'd already left one man for dead he'd beaten him so badly and it wasn't looking good for the one he was dealing with right then either.

"Listen asshole, pay up or pay the price. Deserve says you pay now, not tomorrow or next week. Now." Taylor growled.

"I don't have it now."

"That's too bad for you then." Taylor answered as he hauled back to punch the man in his face. It was what he did, he either got his money or he gave the people who didn't have it a few good reasons to make sure they had it next time. His fist never connected with flesh however, and the next thing he knew he was looking down the barrel of a .38 pistol. He didn't have a gun himself. He never knew when he might come face to face with his parole officer so he relied on his wits and strength, not firearms.

"No, it's too bad for you my friend." The Mexican man laughed as he took aim and pulled the trigger. Taylor moved faster then the other man had anticipated and he missed out on the intended bullet in his head. He didn't move fast enough to miss the second shot though, and it caught him in the shoulder.

He let loose a cry of rage and pain but the Mexican was already fleeing the scene. Taylor knew he'd never catch him as he felt the warm sticky blood trickle down his arm and side. He had to get something done with it soon or he was in trouble. He knew he couldn't go to a hospital and he only knew of one other place he could run to.

Storm.

He'd either end up fixed up or finished off. It could go either way. He knew she kept supplies in her room for doctoring her own wounds much as he hated the fact. He started back to his van, feeling the burning sensation in his shoulder start to fade out as numbness came. He knew that the numbness was not a good sign.

As soon as he got the van started the rain started too. It started out as a mist, not much at all. But half way to the Demaret house the sky opened and his windshield wipers had trouble keeping up with the torrential load.

The house came into view and he parked down the side street where the back gate was. He had no way to get the gate opened but he wouldn't have wanted his van on the property to be seen anyway. Getting over the fence was going to take some work with one arm out of commission too. He got out into the blinding rain and ran over to the gate.

Several fumbling, curse filled attempts later he found himself on the inside of the fence. The damn rain was frigid. He would almost swear it could turn to snow at any time. He started toward the drainpipe he'd seen Storm climb before and started his own agonizing climb. He never looked up to see how far he had left, just kept steadily climbing. When he reached the top he felt like he was ready to pass out. But it was nothing to how he felt when he saw the sight that waited for him on the balcony of Storm's room.

She was standing in the rain, only wearing a white tank top and pair of boy cut shorts that skimmed the tops of her thighs. Her head was thrown back, exposing the curve of her throat and thrusting her chest forward. No detail of her form was hidden by her sodden clothes, plastered against her skin by the rain and every strike of lightning illuminated her white clothes with an almost ethereal glow. She wasn't even aware he'd joined her, he knew. It was almost like she was in a trance. He hated to interrupt but he was in very real danger of passing out at her feet if something wasn't done with his shoulder.

"Storm?" He croaked as he hit one knee, his strength leaving him.

Storm came out of her oblivion abruptly. "What are you doing here Taylor?" Before he could answer she saw the black on his white shirt. Black she somehow instinctively knew would be red in the light of her room. "You're hurt! What happened?" She rushed over to where he was kneeling on her cement balcony and took his face in her hands, looking for injuries there before moving lower, taking an inventory of his body.

"Got shot." Taylor's teeth had started to chatter as the cold rain chilled him and the loss of blood intensified the effect.

"I can't move you Tay, you gotta get yourself into my room." Storm took his arm to help him up and help him into her room. She tossed back her blankets and then turned back to Taylor who was standing in her room beside the French doors not looking like he was totally conscious. Storm started to peel his wet clothes off him, knowing he had to get warm and that she had to see the damage that had been done. She left him in his wet shorts and started to try and get him to get in her bed.

"I'll get blood on it."

"Just sit on the side for now." Storm started turning on lights to see the extent of his wounds better. She had gone right from a trance like state on the balcony to running on pure adrenaline. It hadn't occurred to her how cold she was from her hour standing in the freezing rain. Taylor sat. After she looked at the entrance and exit wound Storm was sure the bullet was not still embedded in Taylor's shoulder. But she was also sure he needed stitches. "You need medical help Taylor. This is bleeding too much to just leave."

"I know you got the stuff here. You gotta do it Storm. I can't go to the hospitals and you know it. I'd never drive there like this and they ask too many questions. You do it. It didn't hit anything vital; I can still use my arm. It just hurts like fucken hell."

"You want me to stitch you up? Taylor I'm not a doctor. I never did anything like that before!"

"No, but you thought you might have to someday. I know you have the stuff here. I mean, Storm if you thought you could doctor yourself you have to be able to doctor me up. I need you to help me Storm." Secretly with the part of his brain that was still working correctly Taylor was just glad Storm hadn't finished him off for what she perceived he'd meant by what he'd said earlier. She looked like she had more protests to make, but like she saw he was right she snapped her mouth shut and went to the bathroom.

"This is gonna hurt. A lot." Storm told Taylor honestly as she returned with the type of iodine swab hospitals used to prep skin for surgery and her suture needle and material.

"I'll be ok. Just do it." Taylor grumbled back. He was touched she cared about hurting him after how he'd already hurt her. She wasn't using it as a way to get back at him. She was being as gentle as she could. As Storm cleaned his shoulder he fought to remain awake. The pain was intense.

"It'd be better if you passed out before I get to the stitching part." Storm imparted sagely, knowing it was going to hurt a hundred times worse when she started to sew his skin closed. It was one of her closet secrets she could sew. But she'd only ever sewn cloth before, never human skin and she felt a bit sick at the thought of forcing her needle and suture material through Taylor's creamy brown skin. She gagged and went to run to the bathroom.

"You can do this Storm." Taylor tried to reassure her. "I'm ok. I know it'll hurt but it'll be ok. Just do it 'Ella." The form of her first name just slipped out. He couldn't have told anyone where it had come from since no one called her Arabella or Bella, let alone 'Ella, but it did seem to focus her. She took a deep breath and pushed the needle through his skin. He sucked a deep breath but managed to not cry out or squirm. He did, after her second stitch, black out but not deeply. She got him conscious enough to get him onto his freshly bandaged front so she could suture the exit wound. All the while lighting flashed outside and the sound of the rain pounding the building came in through the still open French door.

She finished up his back and cleaned and bandaged the wound. Figuring he was out cold she left him on his stomach and went to put her supplies away and wash her hands. As the thoughts of what she'd done washed over her, her suppressed nausea came back and she was sick. Thankfully since she'd never gotten up the will to leave her room after the scene with her father she hadn't eaten in so long she had nothing in her stomach to void anyway. She came back into her bedroom to find Taylor on his back, seeming to still be out cold. She realized how cold it was in her room then, as the shock and adrenaline wore off. She closed the door to the outside and then started turning off lights. She stripped out of her still wet clothes and pulled on dry ones, realizing afterward she'd grabbed Taylor's Yankee's tee shirt off her floor and pulled it on. She was too tired to change and far too cold to care. She went to turn the light off on Taylor's side of her bed, figuring she'd pull the blankets over him and let him sleep while she was over there. She also figured she'd let him have the bed and sleep in the chair since she was by no means ok with him.

It had just seemed petty to fight with him about it while he was bleeding to death. As she leaned over him to pull the blanket over him his good arm shot up and grabbed her chin.

"Who did that to your face?" He asked in a voice so deceptively calm it sent shivers of fear down her spine as he tipped her head to the side to better see the bruised side of her face. She was glad his rage wasn't directed at her because when he talked like he had just now he managed to terrify her like he never had before. When he talked in that tone it showed clearly why the half of New York that knew about him did everything in their power to stay out of his way. That tone showed clearly that he did have it in him to beat a man to death with nothing but his bare hands and it scared her.

Taylor could only tell himself his pain had blinded him to the red handprint on the side her cheek, swollen and bruised. She shrugged in answer to his question. After the adrenaline of helping Taylor had worn off she'd been dropped right back into not feeling much at all. In her world at that moment it didn't matter.

"Not important. You need your sleep." Storm hauled the blankets of her bed up over Taylor's body, knowing he needed to be kept warm.

"'Ella, who hit you?" Taylor asked again, more gently, trying not to scare her with his rage as he watched her fight her tears. He somehow got his abused body to move over so he could pull her quaking form down into the bed with him. She allowed it and started to cry, her whole horrible day rushing back on her. "Shush 'Ella." He had his bad arm stretched out in front of him, cushioning her neck and he wrapped his good arm around her, pulling her back tight against him. "What happened 'El?" He found he really cared and he found her tears were affecting him like nothing had in quite some time. She was freezing and he used his good arm to rub her stomach in a way he hoped was reassuring. "You can tell me 'Ella."

"My dad. We had a fight and I told him Vaffanculo cause he called me a mignotta for how I talked to Theresa."

"What's a mignotta?"

"A whore, literally." Storm sounded almost too detached from the situation for Taylor's liking. He flinched. Her father had, unknowing, called her something he'd made her feel like.

"And what's Vaffanculo?"

"Fuck you, fuck off."

"Why'd you say that to Benny 'Chains'?" No one, in Taylor's memory, had ever lived after saying much less in the way of insults to Benny. Not that Taylor could agree with anyone slapping Storm but in a lot of ways what she'd said to her father could have gone worse.

"I was so mad about how I'm supposed to let Theresa walk all over me. I was more upset about you." She admitted in a small voice. "I didn't know I was just a good time while you wanted me around until then. It meant more to me." She finished in a barely audible tone.

"You jumped to conclusions yet again Storm. I know what I said came out wrong but I didn't mean it like that I swear. Then you took off so fast I couldn't catch you and I had to meet with Teddy this afternoon. There was no getting out of it and I was already running late." He gave in to his impulse to kiss the bare nape of her neck and watched her shudder with it. He saw the marks he'd left her with on her neck and he was proud. She was his. It was time she knew it and he accepted it. The thought of anyone else putting their hands on her made him want to tear the faceless man limb from limb. "It meant more to me too."

"Really?" Storm asked, sounding like a young child who was getting too sleepy for coherent sentences.

"Yeah, really. Go to sleep 'Ella. Everything's gonna be ok. I got you now. Turn out the lamp."

She reached out and did as he asked while she fought a yawn and allowed him to settle her into the crook of his body again. It was like coming home. Suddenly the thing with her dad didn't seem quite so bad when she found out Taylor had really wanted her; that not just any handy female would have done.

Taylor watched her face as she slept. He wished sleep would come to him. It wasn't the pain in his shoulder keeping him up either, though that was bad. It was thinking about Storm being alone and hurting from his stupid words and then on top if it all her beloved father backhanding her over something stupid said in anger.

She was such a little thing; he forgot how resilient she normally was. But the day she'd had had really taken its toll on her. He felt such an impotent rage over the bruise on her face. He couldn't obliterate Benny 'Chains' Demaret into the ground with his bare hands, much as he wanted to. Storm was Benny's daughter and Benny was a deadly boss. There was nothing Taylor could do to avenge her at all and it made him furious. He felt like he was choking on his feelings to keep himself from hunting Benny down, boss or no, screwed shoulder or no, and just showing the man what it felt like to be slapped by someone a few times stronger then you were.

But eventually Storm's deep even breathing and his fatigue and blood loss forced him to pass out, Storm still cradled in his powerful arms, arms that had allowed him to brutalize many men but yet turned so gentle while _she_ was in them.


	10. So Complicated

**Velocity Shift**

By _TempestRaces_

Chapter 9 **– So Complicated**

"Storm, open this damn door! I know you're in there!"

Taylor came to with a moan, disorientated as to where he was. His first thought was that his shoulder was on fire. Every time he moved even a fraction of an inch, such as every breath he took, a searing pain pierced right through him from the front wound to the back. The rest of his body was still curled around the gently snoring Storm in a protective shell. He thought as he laid there that he actually liked the feeling of her hair on his chin. It smelled comforting to him in his pain. He lifted his head off her pillow with a grunt and looked around her room.

Her walls were a deep red, the trim and doors a brilliant and true white, done in high gloss paint. Model cars filled a white gloss shelf on one wall, the door to a walk in closet stood open, revealing custom shelving units filled with clothes and a rack of various boots and shoes. Clothes were on the floor of the closet as well, not hung up but strewn all over the place, some in piles some not. More clothes marked the path from the bathroom to the tall boy on the opposite wall, back to the closet. She had a big screen TV in an entertainment centre off in an alcove at the foot of the bed. And what a bed. Taylor couldn't help but muse that it wasn't a bed made for sleeping in alone, a king sized sleigh bed covered in red Egyptian cotton sheets with a white down duvet. The patio doors had filmy white curtains that were echoed on the windows that adjoined the door, leaving the back wall of her room consisting solely of windows and creating a whole wall of daylight. The windows had blinds but in the chaos of last evening it was clear Storm had forgotten to close them, freeing the bright midmorning sun to fill the room with golden light. It was obviously a beautiful fall day out.

"Stormianna Demaret, open this damn door. Come on baby girl, let me in! You ok in there?" The knocking resumed.

Taylor recognized Matty's voice on the second call, realizing Matty's shouts and knocking were what had woken him. He didn't want Matty waking his sister or bringing the rest of the house down to find out why Storm wouldn't open her door. He got out of the bed and stopped to pull his now dry jeans on as he hopped to the door, pulling up his pants as he went, cussing softly under his breath. He didn't want anything to wake Storm. He didn't know if it was because he thought she needed her sleep or more because he didn't want to find out if she was going to hold yesterday against him farther in the light of a new day. Of course he really didn't want to talk to Matty either. Taylor knew f he ever caught anyone in bed with his sister, if he had one, that man would wind up on a milk carton. Taylor only hopped Matty wasn't in the mood to create missing persons.

Taylor cracked the door, one black eye peeking out as he confirmed Matty was there alone. One large, brown arm snaked out and hauled Matty into the room. The smaller man fell through the opened door, stumbling over his own feet as he tripped through the doorway with a look that was purely startled, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open in shock. Taylor quickly closed the door behind Matty's ungraceful entrance and looked at his friend. Matty was staring at Taylor with a stupefied look on his face. After staring with a dumb look on his face for a moment he found his voice.

"Man, it's bad enough you're dating my sister. Do you have to…to…" Matty fought a very unsophisticated blush when his thoughts drifted off toward the gutter. "In the room she grew up in. That I watched her play in?"

"Damn Matty, you can't think that I'd…That'd we'd…" It was not a subject Taylor wanted to talk about with Matty. Not when the girl in question was his precious baby sister, and sleeping no more then 12 feet away. "I came here-"

"Taylor, you got shot!" Matty noticed the white gauze with the vivid red center on Taylor's shoulder at that moment and it took his attention.

"Yeah, that's why I came here. Got shot up in Starrett City collecting for Teddy last night. I couldn't go to the hospital. I came to have Storm fix me up."

"Then you just never left?" Matty copied his sister's typical cocked eyebrow. It was a look that clearly asked 'why don't I believe you'.

"Something like that. I almost passed out at her feet getting up here. She was standing out on her patio in the pouring rain. It was strange Matty. It couldn't have been much more then 50 out last night, you know? And she was standing outside wearing next to nothing in the pouring rain. It was so cold it was almost freezing rain. She was pretty out of it. You know your father smacked her around yesterday?"

"Dad, hit Storm? Be serious Taylor!" Matty had known something bad had gone down, but he really didn't believe it could have anything to do with his father hitting Storm. The old man was too lenient with her to ever hit her, in Matty's eyes. He looked over at his sister and from where he was she looked ok.

Taylor gave Matty a shove in the direction of Storm's sleeping form. "Go check her out then."

They walked up to the bed, Taylor behind Matty. Matty looked down at his sister where she lay in her bed, one hand under her pillow and the other curled up under her chin. The bruise on her face was clear in the harsh morning sun.

"I'll kill him." Matty growled softly as he spun to leave the room and find his father. Taylor followed Matty to the door and stopped him before he could leave the room. "I'm gonna go find him."

"Why, so he can slap you around too? Don't you think if killin him was an option he'd be dead at my hands by now?" Taylor's eyes had a steel hard sheen to them and it was obvious that indeed if he thought he could get away with it Benny 'Chains' would be running unions in hell if Taylor saw a way to dispatch him to his final resting place.

"Christ Taylor! What can I do? I can't let him get away with this."

"Hate to say it Matty, but this is between Storm and her father."

"He must be expecting me to do somethin about it when I find out Taylor."

"Matty, just let it go. Storm'll work it out on her own. You won't help draggin it up again. If Benny hit her you think he'll think twice about smackin you?"

"Guess not. But she's a girl." Matty's tone showed the fact that Storm's gender made it incomprehensible to him that anyone would hit her.

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone." Taylor chuckled at his own joke. He knew Storm sure didn't want anyone treating her different because of her gender, and knew that she wouldn't want Matty saying it was wrong her father had hit her just for that reason either.

"No kidden. What a mess." Matty ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room.

"It gets better. I gotta get outta here, but I can't climb back down that drainpipe. How'm I gonna get outta this house and over to my van without running into anyone?"

"That's not a big deal. Dad left for Giando's some time yesterday after his fight with Storm and never came home. He has done that before, but I'd think this time it's because of what he did. In any case, he won't be home until tonight at this rate. I'll take you down and out the back gate."

"Ok, let's go." Taylor walked over to his tee shirt where it was discarded on the floor and pulled it on, despite the powder rimmed hole in the shoulder and the blood stains all over it.

"You not gonna wake her up to say good-bye first? You're not here when she wakes up you're like as not to wind up in a ditch some place." Matty smiled, but from the set of his mouth it was obvious he wasn't totally sure he was joking.

"I'll call her later. She needs to sleep."

"Ok, but I hope that bullet you took didn't hurt too much, you're likely to take another when she finds you."

"I'll take my chances. Let's go."

"It's your ass." Matty shrugged and followed Taylor out of the room down through the house, out the back door and across the lawn. He stopped Taylor at the back gate. "What are you gonna tell Teddy about why you never showed up last night with his money? He's gonna want to know who fixed you up."

"I'll tell him I know somebody. Don't worry Matty, I'll leave her out of it. I'll call you later, we'll pick up Scarpa and check out that divey pub Chris has been after us to go to."

"We'll see Taylor." Matty watched Taylor walk across the street toward his van. "Taylor?" Matty called. Taylor stopped walking in the middle of the road and turned around to face his friend.

"What?"

"Don't forget to call Storm. Don't forget, you got me?" Matty's dark gaze was unreadable. To Taylor the message was clear and just as bad as he'd figured. He was in over his head, there was going to be nothing casual about whatever it was between him and Storm Demaret.

"I won't Matty. I'll see you later."

"Take care." Even after his dire warning to Taylor about his sister Matty was still worried about Taylor and his health. Especially since Matty knew his uncle well enough to know that it was going to take one hell of a story to convince Teddy Deserve that Taylor just knew somebody who could stitch him up. If Teddy thought Taylor had gone to a hospital it was likely to get ugly.

Matty walked back into the house and back up to Storm's room. She was still asleep so Matty just closed her door over and went back to his own room.

xox

"Here's your money. Sorry I didn't make it last night but I was held up." Taylor hated playing humble to Teddy Deserve but if he wanted work he had very little choice. It wasn't that he was greedy, he could be happy with enough to keep the rent up on his place and his van on the road, but he had his mother to think of. Because of that he had to keep on Teddy's good side. Fact was Teddy paid better then pretty much anyone else he was likely to find in town.

"This isn't all of it." Teddy didn't even count the bills or look up at Taylor. He'd been handling stacks of cash for so long he knew the thickness of the roll he'd been handed didn't mesh with the amount he'd sent Taylor out to get.

"No, Carlos Gerardo decided he'd rather shoot me then pay up." Taylor pulled his jacket back off his shoulder to show the bloody, torn tee shirt underneath. Teddy looked up for that. "He ran faster then I could bleeding down my arm."

"He pulled a gun on you?" Teddy asked, and Taylor saw where Storm had picked up her cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah, I went to punch his teeth straight for him and before I knew it he had a gun in my face. Just missed takin one to the head." Taylor smirked to show that he had never been afraid in any case and hauled his jacket back up to hide the blood and mess of his shirt.

"That a bandage I see under there?"

"Yeah." Knowing that Teddy wasn't going to be happy until he saw proof Taylor had really been injured he ripped his shirt and took the bandage off, revealing five neat black sutures in his creamy skin.

"Got the matching set too, one just like it on my back to keep it even." Taylor smiled mockingly. "9mm if I don't miss my guess."

"Hey Clueless!" Teddy called back to his main hired goon.

"Yeah boss?"

"I never want to hear about Carlos Gerardo again, you get me?"

"Yeah boss, understood." Billy 'Clueless' Nascarella turned to the phone behind him and started placing calls.

"Well, that takes care of that. Now who fixed up your shoulder? They do nice work."

"Friend of mine fixed me up. Keeps stuff at home for take care of shit for me when I need it. Can't go to the hospital right?"

"Right. You sure your friend will keep their mouth shut?" Teddy asked, calm voice nothing but a pleasant veneer on the true evil beneath.

"Yeah, no sweat there. No one will ever hear a word. You need anything else Teddy?"

"No."

Taylor turned to leave the room. He was almost to the door home free when Teddy called out and halted his progress.

"Taylor!"

"Yeah boss?" Taylor answered without turning around, his hand on the doorknob.

"You tell my niece she does nice work."

Taylor turned around, fighting to keep his panic out of his voice. _How the fuck did Teddy know?_ "I didn't know who else to go to Teddy. Knew she kept the stuff around her house 'cause she told Matty." Taylor knew lying would be the biggest mistake he could make. If he lied, and got caught he'd never been seen again. There was always the slight chance that Teddy already knew for a fact he'd been with Storm last night and was just testing him to see if he'd try to lie or not. Nothing was ever for sure with Teddy Deserve.

"Nothing to worry about Taylor. Better her then some drop in clinic when the wrong person's around and starts asking questions. Take a few days off, rest up. I'll let you know when I have need of your services again."

"Sure, you know how to find me." Taylor left the room as quick as he could without looking like he was running away. Teddy not having anything to say about him running to Storm was not a good thing. Taylor had always known Teddy Deserve was one sharp man, but never as sharp as to guess that it'd been Storm who'd fixed him up. Taylor had no idea how his boss had figured that out, but Teddy's ok attitude only spelled trouble for him and he knew it.

xox

Teddy watched the door close behind his hired tough guy. He knew very well that his niece had gotten it into her head to have Taylor Reese for her own, and for now it suited Teddy to let them think that everything was ok with that. In the end they _would_ be split but for now Taylor did a credible job of controlling Storm and Teddy needed the nosey, bossy girl out of his hair for the foreseeable future. He had a job for Matty, one his sister would never let him take on and Teddy needed Matty on board. However, when all was said and done Teddy had a better, more permanent way to control his headstrong niece. One that suited her station in the life more so then Taylor Reese ever would.

But if Storm had Taylor to keep her busy she'd be less likely to question Matty too hard and Matty could be convinced it made sense to keep certain things from his sister, if he was told it was all in her best interest.

Teddy was a master at manipulating people. It was how he'd gotten as far as he had in the life and why he was still alive. The only person he'd ever had trouble manipulating had been his sister, Cara, but she was gone from his life. Left behind a daughter the mirror image of herself in both looks and personality though. Storm could end up just as big a thorn in his side as his sister had been. How Benny Demaret had never been treated to Cara's attitude Teddy would never know. That went double for how the boss man put up with his own headstrong offspring. Having watched Taylor make Storm meter her tongue without starting a war Teddy knew the two of them together was a good idea for now. Taylor somehow managed to control her with her none the wiser.

With a shake of his head he went back to his books. Everything was under control and everything was developing just how he wanted it too. A few months, half a year at the outside and all he'd been working for would be realized. He lit a Cuban cigar and took a drag, savouring the sweet smoke before he exhaled it and smiled. Everything was right on schedule.

xox

Storm woke up and stretched lazily. She rolled onto her back and opened her eyes to find her room bathed in the bright light of the midday sun. She wondered why the blinds were all open as she squinted in the wash of bright light, one of the windows letting a square of sunlight shine right across her face. Checking her bedside clock, she saw that it was in fact half past twelve. She sat up with a yawn. She knew something wasn't right but couldn't quite wrap her mind around what.

She got out of her bed and headed to the bathroom, running her hair out of her face with her hand as she walked, yawning hugely. Her hair was a wild snarl of curls and tangles knotted down her back. She couldn't figure why, since she was normally so carefully to ensure it was brushed out and tied back before she went to sleep each night.

She reached the en-suite and flipped the light on. The sink full of bloody towels, not to mention the red welt on her face in her reflection brought the details of the evening previous flooding back to the forefront of her mind. _Oh my god_, she thought, _I stitched Taylor up. From a gunshot wound. _

She quickly cleaned her bathroom, hoping no one had been in her room. Once she had disposed of the bloody evidence she used the bathroom and started to wash her hands and face.

It was while she was brushing her teeth she realized that Taylor had not been in her bed when she'd woken and she hadn't seen him anywhere in her room on her trip to the bathroom. She stuck her head out of the bathroom door, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth and scanned the room for Taylor. Both Taylor and all his positions were no where to be found, gone as if they'd never existed.

Storm had no idea where Taylor could have gone but she hoped he hadn't left via the drain spout. If he had she'd bet he'd ripped himself back open and was busily bleeding to death someplace. She finished up her teeth and then strutted out onto her balcony, looking over the edge to see if Taylor's crumpled, dead form was on the back lawn. No sign of him. Storm headed back in and checked out her hair. There was no way she was doing anything with it until she'd had a shower and washed and conditioned it.

Half an hour later, her hair done, face made up to hide the worst of the damage her father had inflicted on her, and dressed in a green tank top and black sweats she headed down to her brother's room. He was on his computer, browsing help wanted sites. Storm sighed. _Would Matty never learn?_ "Hey Matty D, what's up?" Storm flopped onto Matty's bed and lay on her side, head propped up on her hand.

"Not a thing. I was wonderin if you were ever getting up."

"You know I do most of my living and working at night. Party all night sleep every day right?"

"Yeah. What happened yesterday Storm?" Matty turned around on his office chair and leaned toward his sister, elbows on his knees as he looked at her expectantly, earnestly wanting to know.

"Oh, nothin really." Storm forced a flip tone to her voice. "I had a stupidly huge fight with Dad."

Matty watched as his sister tried to gloss the issue over and protect him from the upset. He acknowledged the fact that in this case she just might not want to relive it as well, but he wanted to know what had really gone down. "Storm, I don't buy for a second this was just another one of your fights with Dad. You were almost crying when you left his office then you never left your bedroom all night long. I know for a fact you go with Devon to see a flick every Sunday night but you didn't go last night. If it was just another fight why didn't you sneak out to keep your movie date?"

"How do you know I didn't?" Storm asked as she studied the view out Matty's window. Anything to avoid his all too knowing green eyes.

"You didn't. Your car never moved last night. Not to mention Devon called while you were still asleep wondering what happened to you. He was worried and so am I."

"It was nothing Matty, just a stupid fight. He started to yell at me about Theresa and it was just the final time I was willing to take his shit over something that old bag did and I snapped." Matty just looked at Storm, making it clear he knew there was more to the story and he wasn't giving up until he'd heard it all. "Ok, fine! I snuck out right after I told you I was taking a shower and went for a drive. I drove back to Taylor's and we had a fight. I came home from that fight, snuck back in and almost right after you came to tell me to go see dad. I was already rippin for a fight when he called me down and when he started in at me over Theresa I snapped. I wanted to rip Taylor limb from limb and since that wasn't a current option Dad filled in as a substitute."

"What happened?"

"I told him I didn't care to live my live for him anymore because it never got me any farther ahead, just yelled at a lot. He told me I was never to act like a _mignotta_ in public again and I told him _vaffanculo. _He really didn't take that too well, as you might imagine."

"At which point in this exchange did he hit you?" Matty growled.

"After I told him to go fuck himself." Storm admitted before she looked up in shock. "How'd you know about that?"

"Hahah, thought you pulled one over on your brother didn't you?" Matty got up and sat down on the bed beside his sister. "You do a good job hiding it with that crap you smear on your skin." He grabbed her chin and tilted her head to the side. She slapped his hand away.

"Gee thanks." Storm snapped back sarcastically. "How'd you know about that?"

"I can still just tell where it is. Still shows a bit through the cover up stuff."

Storm frowned and returned her gaze to the view outside the house. "I don't know what happens now or where me'n dad go from here." Storm looked up at Matty and there were tears in her eyes that stubbornly refused to fall. A fact she was glad for. "I think I hate him."

"Don't say that Storm. You know you got his temper and you've pulled guns on guys for saying less to you then you did to him. I'm not saying he had a right to hit you but," Matty shrugged, "both your tempers run pretty hot. Where do you think you got it from?"

"But those guys were random assholes in clubs who touched my ass Matty, not my own children. I'd expect it outta Teddy but not dad. He's in a permanent bad mood lately, worse then usual and I hate it. I hate him. It's not I think, I know I do. At this moment in time I hate my own father."

"It'll all blow over Storm. It'll fade into history and everything'll be fine. You don't hate pop, you just think you do. You're still hurt and mad and when you have time to calm down and he has time to apologise everything will be ok." Matty looked so hopeful, like he so honestly believed what he was saying that Storm didn't have the heart to disillusion him.

She didn't know how to tell him that she felt something inside her was broken and that no amount of time was going to make it better. That it couldn't be put back together. Her much idolized father turning on her, even if it was in anger had snapped some part of her and she knew that the fibres of her being were irrevocably changed. She felt a coldness inside her where before everything had been fiery. There was an indifference in her now that hadn't been present before. But all of these discoveries were things she didn't know how to tell her brother. Didn't want to tell him. Matty was so naive in a lot of ways, she didn't have the heart to disillusion him the way she'd been so cruelly disillusioned, also by a family member, so she told him what he wanted to hear. "Sure Matty, you're right." She couldn't tell Matty the sister he knew was no more, replaced by a cold hearted woman who didn't think she cared about very much of anything. But there was another issue on her mind.

"Matty?"

"Yeah sis?"

"You in my room this morning?" Storm watched as Matty's eyes shifted away from her face and onto the computer screen on his desk. He seemed to think for a moment then he looked back into her eyes. Storm saw confusion and the fact he was about to be less then truthful with her reflected there.

"Um, n-"

"Don't lie to me Matty. You're no good at it." She raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Yeah, I came to check on you earlier, after Devon called."

"Was Taylor still here then?" Storm asked mater of factly and watched as Matty blushed.

"Yeah, he had to go tell Teddy he was still alive before Teddy made sure he didn't stay that way long."

"I was scared he went out the way he got in, down the side of the house."

"No, I took him out through the house, out the back way. His van was down that way."

"That was a gutsy move bro. What if dad caught you taking him outta the house?"

"Dad never came home last night so it wasn't a concern. Taylor having a gunshot wound was a bigger concern. He showed me where you stitched him up. Nice job, looked very professional." After the compliment Matty's face turned angry. "Now what the hell are you into that you both know how to give stitches and have the equipment in your room?"

"I just believe in being prepared. I had the stuff in case of emergencies and as far as knowing how to use it I had no idea. I just winged it as best as I could. I've seen it done on TV. Besides, I half think he went and got shot on purpose to come see me while bleeding to death so that I felt sorry for him and didn't kill him over the fight we had earlier."

"What was that about anyway?" Matty leaned back against his sister's legs and waited for her to fill him in.

"Nothing." Storm looked away mutinously, the story of her fight with Taylor one she really wasn't ready or willing to share with her brother. Matty wasn't ready to let it go.

"Yeah, ok. You came home crying and cursing him in such a bad mood you told _our_ father to go fuck himself. Sure it was nothing." Matty acted like he believed Storm in a very sarcastic, over the top way. With a look at her he dropped the act. "Why don't I believe that Storm?"

"'Cause you're stubborn and simply trying to make my life harder? Didn't you get the memo? I'm the sarcastic Demaret, not you."

Matty gave his sister a dirty look. "What really happened?"

"I went back to his place. He didn't open his door but the van was out front so I knew he was home. I broke into his place. I found him in the shower singing. Singing of all things!" Storm smiled softly when she thought of Taylor singing in his shower. She shook it off and resumed her story. "When he stopped and turned off the water I started clapping. He was slightly miffed I'd been able to break into his place so easily and also had the balls to do so. We came to words ending with him growling at me about if I knew what was gonna happen to me if I came to his place and broke in and me telling him to show me." An unholy light lit Storm's eyes. Well, her brother wanted to know what had happened right? Boy was she gonna tell him. Served him right for pushing her into telling him in the first place. "So about an hour later I figured I needed a shower myself before I came home." Storm smirked.

Matty groaned and tipped his head back with his eyes closed. "Over share. Total over share. I didn't want to know that. Shit Storm, I asked what happened with him to upset you, not the play by play of your _relationship _here."

"I'm gettin' to the fight part, gimme a minute. Shesh." Storm smirked as Matty shot her a reproachful look. She knew he knew she'd only told him the whole story to make him uncomfortable. "Then when I was getting out, getting ready to come home Taylor said something stupid that made me think he was just using me because I happened to be conveniently around at the time. I stormed outta his place and came home. That was what put me in such a bad mood."

Matty frowned, and Storm couldn't help but think it wasn't an attractive look for her brother. "Stop seeing him now Storm. Stop before something bad happens to one or both of you. The two of you are so volatile and you have so little in common. It's just going to be a path of hurt feelings and fights until one of you gets smart and ends it or dad finds out and ends it for you."

"After last night dad better stay the hell outta my life or I'll just move out and go work for Ivan full time and forget my last name is Demaret." Storm sat up, her eyes hard, revealing the fact she was not blowing smoke, she was ready to do just what she threatened.

"What if you did that and the Russians put a hit out on dad and expected you to kill him? What then? Could you kill your own father?"

"No, of course not. But Ivan knows that when it comes to my family my loyalty is not his. He'd never ask it of me."

"How can you be so sure? What if they decided to test your loyalty to them?"

"He'd be stupid to because he knows he'd lose me first." Storm huffed in frustration. "You know I'll never really go work for him anyway Matty, but it still looks tempting now."

Matty was saved from replying by a banging on the front door. Storm jumped up and ran to answer it, shoving Matty out of her way so she got out the door first.

"No fair!" Matty yelled as he chased his sister down the stairs.

"Sure it is. You were only sitting down and I had to get up off the bed. I deserve a head start." Storm called over her shoulder as she raced down the stairs. She reached the door and threw it open, Matty right on her heels. Taylor was standing on the step. "Taylor, what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk Storm. Now." Taylor didn't even say hello to Matty, he just hauled Storm out the door of her house, pulling it closed behind her and started to drag her down the driveway toward his idling van.

"What's this about Taylor? Shit, this is high handed, even for you. Would you let me go already?" Storm attempted to fight him off but never succeeded. She ended up sitting in the van with little idea how she got there. Before she knew it Taylor was driving down the driveway. Storm looked in the side mirror and saw Matty watching her go from the front door with a shocked look on his face.

"I went to tell your uncle why I never kept our meeting last night."

"I know, Matty told me. What does this have to do with you draggin me outta my house? Oh Tay, are you worried I'm pissed you left without telling me first?" Storm made a pout Taylor's way teasingly. "You can rest easy. I wasn't mad."

"I was worried you'd be upset about that but that's not why I dragged you out of your house."

"It's not?"

"No Storm, we have bigger problems."

"Like what?" Storm looked confused.

"Like the fact that when I told Teddy I didn't show up last night because I got shot he made me show him the wound and he knew it was you who fixed me Storm. He told me to tell his niece she does good work."

"What? What did you tell him?" Storm roared angrily.

"I didn't tell him anything. I told him I got shot by Carlos so I couldn't make it last night. He asked me who fixed me up. I told him a friend who takes care of all that stuff for me. He asked if I was sure my friend wouldn't say anything and I told him yeah. He dismissed me and just before I left the room he told me to tell you that you do nice work."

"Was he pissed?"

"Seemed almost happy about it."

"Teddy? Happy?" Storm put the back of her hand against Taylor's forehead.

He fought his urge to burrow into her hand her touch felt so good. "What are you doing?" He growled.

"Checking you for a fever. Do you feel ok? I hope I cleaned your shoulder good enough not to give you an infection."

"I'm fine." Taylor swatted her hand away. "He was happy about it Storm. It's made me more nervous then anything in the last long time. Why was he happy?"

"Who knows?"

"Maybe he knows about the shit that went down with your dad and he was just feeling charitable at the time."

"My uncle Teddy do anything for any reason other then because it benefits him in some way? Never. He's only out for number one Taylor."

"He's loyal to Benny."

"Yeah, because he knows what side his bread is buttered on, and for no other reason. Don't forget it."

"Ok, well it still brings up the question, what is it we tell Teddy about us? He's bound to ask what's up between us."

"Well, what is up between us?" Storm asked, mostly just curious. Something in her wanted to hear he wanted to be exclusive much as she expected to hear something along the lines of friends with benefits.

"I don't know. Does it have to have a name?" Taylor grumbled uncomfortably.

"You're the one who said Teddy would want to know what we were to each other. I'm just trying to figure out that same thing myself here so I can answer him if he asks."

"I don't know Storm. We've only been, well, seeing each other for three days you know. I never spent a lot of time analyzing it."

Storm decided that if there had ever been a time in her life for straight up honesty she was looking at it now with Taylor in his plain Jane Dodge van. "I know it's only been officially three days but you gotta know that it goes back way longer then that for me at least and for whatever reason I feel like I've been wanting you my whole life." Storm admitted, looking out the side window so she wouldn't have to look right at Taylor. "But I know how hard it is for men to talk about this shit so whatever you want us to be, we are."

Taylor groaned. She was going to put deciding what they were to each other on him? She was the one who really cared about it. But he couldn't get past her saying she'd been waiting on him so long it felt like forever to her. "Why don't we just say we're taking it slow? Does it really have to be totally pinned down?" Happy she liked him so well or no, it still terrified him to think of he and Storm in some sort of qualified, permanent relationship. His fight or flight response was yelling 'keep it casual' as loud as it could, and following it up with 'if you can't then run as far away as you can as fast as you can'.

"I thought the whole reason you brought it up was so you'd know what to tell Teddy and so would I if the situation ever comes up."

"Can't we just tell him we're friends? He knows this already. I mean you grew up tagging around after your brother and me."

"I don't think he's gonna buy it after the night of the charity dinner but we can try to sell it. If we both keep our stories straight it might work." Storm shrugged. She tried not to be hurt by his attitude. She knew Taylor was just acting like a typical man. He needed more time to get use to the idea of just being with her. They _had_ only been officially together for three days. But to Storm it felt like forever. She knew things were moving very fast, but she always lived her life fast. She didn't have it in her to live slow. Even as she told herself that she knew she wasn't being totally honest with herself. She never moved this fast when it came to men. Especially with the sleeping with them part. But in this case she just didn't want to take it slower. Not with Taylor. She'd been waiting on him too long as it was in her opinion. But she didn't want to drive him away scared by being pushy or demanding. "We can give it a shot anyway."

"I don't know Storm." Taylor took a hand off the wheel and rubbed his head agitatedly.

"I told you I'd go with whatever you decided and I will. If you want us to try and sell just friends I'll try. I think it could work if we both sell it totally. If we both try to believe it then we should be able to make him believe it too."

When Taylor heard it put so bluntly he wasn't sure he wanted it that way at all. It sounded so wrong, belittled what they had. To him it wasn't just a few fun dates with casual sex but the way he was acting, it sounded like that's what he was making it and what he wanted. It had been a long time since he'd wanted the whole relationship with a girl and not just the casual sex and the fact that he wanted the whole relationship with Storm was scaring him. _Storm of all people_, he thought, _how stupid can I be?_ He knew he shouldn't allow himself to be scared of something so foolish. Besides, hadn't he just the night previous decided that if any other man put his hands on her he'd break the faceless man's neck? That didn't sound like the thoughts of a man who wanted to share his woman as just friends. Just thinking about her treating their relationship as casual started to get him mad. "I can't sell it that good, I can't act like I believe it because I don't. You are _mine_ Storm and if I ever find out you forgot it I'll kill whoever I find you with. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. You can bet it goes double for me where you're concerned." Storm grinned, for once Taylor's bossy attitude not putting her into a bad mood. He was jealous. Jealous was a good thing with Taylor. She knew that if he was that jealous over her he really cared about her. Otherwise he wouldn't care if she moved on to other guys, he'd just drop her and move on himself. "Now that we have that all nice and settled maybe you should take me home before my brother calls in the air national guard. He thinks that sooner or later we're gonna kill each other."

"Ok." Taylor turned the van around, ready for some time alone with his thoughts. He'd just admitted that he wanted Storm bad enough to kill over her. He hated giving anyone that kind of power over him. He knew he was going to be paranoid about her using it to control him, to hold even more sway over him then she already had just using her big green eyes.

Storm was also more then a little unsettled by how strongly thoughts of Taylor with any other woman made her feel. With two people like them, two people who wouldn't think twice of killing anyone who got in their way, could there be a future for them that didn't involve mayhem? Storm had to wonder if Matty was more correct then he even knew. It seemed they were both jealous with sharing issues. God help anyone who came between them.

Taylor let Storm off at her house with a curt goodbye. Storm strode into her house and straight up to her room. She was still there a few hours later when Matty came in.

"You ok?"

Storm was getting seriously fed up with Matty's need to treat her like she was somehow broken. She acknowledged the fact that in some ways she was, but she didn't want anyone patronizing her over it either. It was her way to just ignore the hurt until it numbed to the point where she could simply put it to the back of her mind and forget it was there. That, or take it out on some unsuspecting person who thought it was a good idea to cross her or her boss. "I'm fine. How're you?" She didn't look up from her book, but rather kept reading.

"Fine. What're you reading?" Matty asked as he sat on the corner of Storm's bed. She looked up into his eyes when she answered.

"The Art of War."

"That's pretty heavy going for a Monday afternoon when some College professor didn't tell you to have it read by Tuesday."

"Well, I imagine I'm gonna get a chance to put it to practical use whenever dad bothers to come home."

"You're planning on going to war against the old man are you?"

"Pretty much. You wanna be on my team or his? Keep in mind who's done more for you lately and the fact that he's bound to have Teddy and the super bitch on his side."

"I don't wanna take sides between my sister and father. I'd rather it hadn't happened but since it did I'd like it if for once the two of you just talked about it until you settled it."

Storm snorted out her nose in mock humour. "Do you honestly see that happening?"

"Not seeing it happening doesn't stop me from wishing it would."

"Never mind, I'm sure I can take him on my own if I have to."

"He ever come home at all Storm?"

"Not that I know of. I didn't exactly go lookin either."

"Ok, well, if you're ok I'm gonna go get ready for when Chris and Marbles come pick me up."

"Ok, have fun where ever."

Matty didn't answer, he just got up and left the room. Storm went back to her book. When she next became aware of where she was another few hours had gone by and she was over half way through the very heavy book. It was a very interesting topic to Storm. She realized the reason she'd become aware of her surroundings was because there were male voices in the entranceway. She headed down, figuring she could say hello to her cousin and friend before they left. When she reached them she found Matty had failed to mention Taylor was with them too.

"Ok, which one of you yahoos is driving?" Storm asked the group before they noticed her on the stairs. They looked up to find her paused half way down, hand on the railing, one foot cocked behind her a step higher then the one she was standing on and one eyebrow raised.

"I am." Chris replied as he stepped forward a few paces. "Why, you comin?" He asked with a grin.

"No, that's ok."

"Aw, come on Storm. You never wanna hang with us anymore." Marbles whined. "You use to like to roll with us. Now you're always busy or not interested. Someday we're all gonna be too old to go out and have fun and you'll have missed it all. We won't be able to party together forever."

"I got other shit to do tonight Johnny. Some other time." Marbles gave her a disbelieving look. "I promise that we'll do something all together soon." Truth of the matter was she didn't want to force her presence on Taylor when she figured he was looking forward to a night with the boys.

"Come on sis! It'll be a good time."

"Yeah cuz, you won't believe this place. I got room in the car." Chris cajoled, swinging his keys.

"Naw, you boys go on. You don't want me around, ruining boy's night." Storm finished walking down the stairs and leaned against the banister post at the bottom of the stairs. "You guys go on. Pubs aren't my style anyway and I'd have to hold you up while I changed."

"Come if you want to." Taylor said gruffly.

Storm got the feeling he just offered because he didn't want to look like a jerk in front of his friends, not because he really wanted her there and it made up her mind not to go. "No, it's ok, really. I do have other shit to do. I'll take a rain check. But you," Storm turned to Chris and pointed at him, "will not drive after drinking with my brother in your car. Capisce?"

"As if I'd ever do anything to endanger your brother and risk getting my ass kicked."

"I'll do more then kick your ass. They'll never find your damn ass again if you do anything stupid with Matty in your car."

"Come on sis, lay off already." Matty growled at Storm even as he hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"Get outta here already Matty. I got a chance to have the house to myself for once so leave already."

"Night Storm." Johnny called as he walked out the front door, Matty following him.

"Sure you won't change your mind Cuz? I'll buy your drinks. I miss watchin you get into shit places like this one."

"I'm sure Chris. I got other places to get into trouble tonight."

"Ok, night then." Chris kissed his cousin's cheek and walked to the door. He paused. "You be at Overdrive later?"

"It's always a possibility."

Chris nodded. "Alright. Might see you there later then."

"Ok. Have a few for me cuz." Storm used Chris's own slang back on him and he walked out the door into the night after his friends.

"You sure you're just as happy to stay home? I won't be mad if you come with us." Taylor told Storm as he leaned against the hallway wall.

"I'm sure. Taylor, if I wanted to go with my brother and cousin whether you liked it or not wouldn't stop me. Trust me on this one, I got other stuff to do."

"Other stuff involving whatever you were passing out in that club last time?"

Storm shrugged rather then answer Taylor's question. "I know I gotta go see Vanya tonight. It won't take long so who knows what else I'll get done. Get on before your friends come back in here to hurry your ass along."

"What are you into Storm?"

"Nothing for you to worry about Taylor. Matty's waiting so go." Storm pointed to the door, which was standing half open waiting for Taylor to go get into Chris's Infinity.

"You got a phone on you?" Taylor asked as he started toward the door.

"Always."

"I'm gonna call you later, ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Go already." Storm followed Taylor to the door, trying to make sure he kept walking out it.

He turned back as he reached the door and looked down into Storm's eyes. _His girlfriend_. After his afternoon of getting used to it he almost liked the sound of that. She was standing only a few inches away from him as she tried to crowd him out the door. He leaned down to get in her face and as he did he moved his good hand up into her hair. Bringing her closer to him with his hand on her head he crushed her mouth to his and after a moment of trying to keep her distance he felt her cave and sway toward him. He was frustrated by his shot arm being useless to him as he fought a need to use it to pull her closer to him by the waist. Her arms came up around his neck as she kissed him back.

"Taylor, let's go!" Johnny Marbles yelled from the back seat of Chris's idling car.

Taylor stood up away from Storm with a growl. "I'll kill him."

Storm laughed. "Just go have fun with them. Take care of my brother."

"Matty can take care of himself most of the time you know Storm."

"I know, but I still worry about him. I won't if you're with him though so go on before they leave you here."

"That has possibilities too." Taylor took a step toward Storm, crowding her back into the house.

"No it doesn't because I won't be here all night. Like I said I have stuff to do." Storm put her hands flat on Taylor's chest and pushed backwards as hard as she could. She caught him off guard and managed to make him step back a few times to avoid going down on his ass in her hall. He stepped back right out the door. He stood looking at Storm in shock on the porch. "Have a good time with the boys. You keep those possibilities in mind and call me later." Storm cocked an eye brow with a cheeky grin and shut the door in Taylor's face as she heard her cousin call for Taylor to get his 'overgrown ass in the car already'.

xox

"Someone's got a girlfriend." Chris teased Taylor as they drove toward downtown. "Really makes me wish my mother and her father weren't related. Lucky bastard."

"Shut up Chris." Matty didn't like to hear his sister talked about in terms of being good looking, no matter who was doing the talking. The fact he saw Taylor turning red with anger beside him didn't improve his view of the situation either.

"Hell, she's no relation to me but I'm still shit outta luck. How do you think I feel?" Marbles chuckled. "I play Johnny nice guy for all those years at St. Aquinas prep and I still get shot down time and time again. Then Mr. man of few words comes along and, bingo! He's dating her all of a sudden. The world is a cruel place."

"She's too damn tall for you anyway Marbles. Girl's got half a foot on you. At least." Chris snickered at his own joke. "Me, on the other hand, would look good with her."

"Can I remind everyone that Storm did not miraculously turn into a woman who's not my sister when she went out with Taylor a few times? Do I honestly have to listen to this all night?" Matty sighed.

"No." Taylor paused. The threat was clear. "Because if these two morons don't shut up I'll shut them up."

"No need to get testy Taylor. It's not like we're not jealous or anything. Shit, we know you're a lucky bastard. No disrespect intended." Marbles hit a button on the car radio to switch the stations.

"What're you doin? This isn't your car cuz." Chris changed the station back to the one it had previously been tuned to. Johnny Marbles was his cousin on his father's side, meaning while Chris was related to both Storm and Johnny, the two of them were no relation.

"This music sucks."

"This is big band Jazz music and it does not suck."

"How the hell did you end up into big band Jazz music?" Matty asked from behind Chris.

"Hey, this was the music our grandfathers and great grandfathers lived the high life to. There's a whole lotta history for us in this music." Chris defended his choice as he executed a left hand turn onto a little rundown street in an industrial area of the city. He parked the car across the street from a pub called Casey's and got out. The rest of his friends followed suit.

"This is a pub in your world Scarpa? Christ, it's a fucken dive." Taylor said as he stood, wishing he could cross his arms across his chest. Anything he did with his arm still tugged at the stitches and made him want to roar in pain.

"It's better inside." Chris pulled the collar of his leather coat up around his neck. He looked somewhat out of place to his friends without a sharp three piece suit, the only outfit they ever saw him in. Instead tonight he was wearing causal slacks and a jersey knit fitted sweater under a black leather jacket that looked brand new. He didn't fit in wearing a suit but he wouldn't fit in wearing what he was either. For that matter neither would Matty, who was dressed very similarly to his cousin. Only Taylor with his worn jeans and white ribbed undershirt looked like the type of patron the pub was likely to attract.

Marbles was a second to Taylor, other then his small stature. He was also attired in jeans and a tee shirt under his canvas jacket.

"It's gonna be all I can do to keep the three of yous from getting your ass kicked in here." Taylor sighed, honestly seeing that happening in the near future. He was envisioning a bar full of truckers and warehouse workers. Not the type of person that Matty and Chris were use to dealing with, to say nothing of Johnny.

"I came here without you and lived to tell." Chris grinned. "Some nice waitresses in here." He started across the road, leaving his friends to follow or wait for him beside his car outside in the cold. They followed him into the dubious establishment, Taylor with an almost silent groan that Matty caught, causing the two to share a look. Both wondered if they were getting into more then they wanted to.

xox

As soon as the door was closed behind Taylor Storm locked it and headed back into her father's office. She was just in the mood to hurt him like he'd hurt her and she figured snooping around in his private papers was a good place to start. She figured she never knew what she might find. Maybe something good enough to hold over his head if the situation should ever arise.

She walked into the office and turned on the desk lamp. She made sure that the main door was closed and locked and made sure the back door was open in case she had to beat a hasty retreat.

Walking up to one of his oak filing cabinets she tried the top drawer. It refused to slide open at her tug. She swore at it loudly. What was her father doing locking the filing cabinets at home? Normally neither of his children would ever have dared enter the office without him summoning them down or at least being in the room.

"No faith." Storm muttered as she got her pocket knife out of her pants and pulled the trusty pick attachment up. It had gotten her into Taylor's and other, by far much harder places in the past. She giggled to herself about being mad at her father for having no faith when she was busily proving him right with a lock pick. "Gotcha!" She said to herself as the lock clicked and the drawer slid open with her tug.

She started flipping through files. There was nothing interesting in the top drawer at all. Mostly it was just receipts for inane things like her school and her brother's. She slid the second drawer open and hit pay dirt. There were several files with her name on them. Tugging out the first few she sat at her father's desk cross legged on the chair and flipped the first one open.

It was full of various report cards and other mementos from her first few grades of school. By looking at all the stuff in the folder Storm had to figure her dad have every picture she ever coloured and every test she ever wrote. All her awards for reading, singing, soccer, and her many other childhood sports and activities were saved. The next few folders contained similar things. There were school pictures and candid shots all through the papers.

She found pictures of her and Matty's trip to Disney land with Bobby Boulevard and sniffed hard, thinking of the horrible end that Bobby had met. He'd been a good friend to two little kids who's own father wasn't half so involved in their life as he was willing to be. Benny had had his reasons, he said he couldn't leave the state to take them to Florida, but still, when Storm thought back on the trip it was another man, not her father she thought of fondly.

Her father had often seemed so indifferent to her and Matty growing up. He had seemed to let Teddy take more of a role in raising them then he was willing to himself. Teddy and the distant cousin who he'd moved in to take care of the kids when they were small. Except when they messed up. He was quick to be involved then. Storm knew it had made her what she was. Her brother too for that matter. Both of them had been doing all they could to be what they thought their father wanted them to be. Storm by being determined to be just as good at what her father did as he was himself and Matty by trying to prove that he could be as good as their father, but at doing his own thing.

They had been raised in privilege, going to the best schools, living in a good neighbourhood. Their father had given them everything money could buy but hadn't given them much of his time for a lot of years. It had led her and Matty to believe that if their father did love them, at the very least he didn't like them very much. It was only as she got older and spent more time with her father that she had come to know that he did love her, in his own way. By the same token her father had always been her idol and role model.

She laughed as she took out a picture she'd drawn in art class in the fifth grade. It showed her and Matty beside a big black car. She couldn't believe her father had saved all this stuff. She doubted there were very many parents who had every crayon picture their children had ever coloured, every report card they'd ever brought home and every card they'd ever been given for every birthday, father's day and even valentine's day. She found her award for perfect marksmanship at the back of the last folder, the one that covered her from grade 11 to 12. Of course her father had saved that, she mused.

Storm put all the stuff about her off to one side of the desk and moved on to the folders with her brother's name on them. They were just as complete as hers, minus the receipts for guns and ammo. Storm sat in her father's chair, legs folded under her and alternatively laughed and cried as she looked at all the stuff her father had saved over 24 years of Matty accomplishing things. He had every last newspaper clipping involving any of Matty's ball teams, copies of all his diplomas and even a copy of Matty's college degree. She finished looking over Matty's folders and pushed them off to the side of the desk too.

There were only two folders left she hadn't looked through by then. She pulled one of them over in front of herself and found more folders of random receipts. Then at the very bottom of the pile she found a folder marked Cara Miles. She knew her mother's name had been Cara so she flipped it open. The first thing she found was a picture of her mother and father on their wedding day. Having never seen so much as a picture of her mother before she picked it up and held it to the light so she could look closer.

The picture revealed a woman who proved her father hadn't been lying when he'd said that Storm looked just like her mother. Storm felt strange seeing another person who looked so much like her staring back at her off the glossy page. Not to mention the fact that her dad looked so much younger too. So much happier. She set that picture down and picked up the next one. It was of her mother and father in the center holding hands with Teddy at Benny's side and Theresa at Cara's. Clearly Teddy and Theresa had functioned as best man and maid of honour at the Demaret's wedding.

After that picture Storm found her birth certificate and Matty's. She'd seen her birth certificate before but it hadn't been exactly the same. Something about the one she was holding now didn't feel right compared to the one she'd seen before. She realized on her copy her mother's name was given as Cara Demaret. On the one in the file about her mother the woman's name was officially Cara Deserve-Demaret. No mention of the name Miles was on either copy, but Storm's sure as hell hadn't said Deserve. Eyebrow's knitted in puzzlement she continued to look through the papers in the file.

There was a marriage certificate for Benjamin James Demaret and Cara Belle Deserve. So why was her mother's name different on her real birth certificate if her mother's real last name had been Deserve? Storm was starting to have a lot of questions. Like why had her father seen it necessary to doctor her birth certificate? She found a copy of Matty's with the same doctored changes. Mathew James Demaret born to Benjamin James Demaret and Cara Deserve-Demaret. Next she found a certificate of death for one Cara Belle Demaret.

Which was her mother's real name? Why was the folder about a woman named Cara Miles? Storm could only guess her mother's real name had to be Cara Belle Deserve. So who was Cara Emily Miles? Her face still pulled into a tight frown she flipped the death certificate over and the next thing she found was pictures of Matty with their mother. She'd forgotten that Matty had known their mother for the first four years of his life.

The last thing she found had her gasp in shock. It was the _current_ address of one Cara Emily Miles. Whoever Cara Miles was she was living in a suburb of Miami Florida. _Is my mother still alive?_ Storm asked herself in shock. She didn't know what to do as she sat there, files of her childhood accomplishments strewn around her, mixing with the documents of her brother's achievements still piled up on the desk.

If her mother was still alive why had her father told both his children she was dead? If her mother was still alive why did she have to go live with Teddy and his wife for three years of hell? If her mother was still alive why did she live in Florida not with them in New York? Why had she left her father? She had so many questions and no answers. But she had a way to get some answers. She had the current address of a woman who might very well turn out to be the woman smiling in the wedding pictures at the start of the file. Storm pocketed the paper with the address and flipped back to the picture of her mother and father in their wedding finery.

She didn't know how long she sat, in a daze staring at the picture but she was shocked back into reality by her father's voice.

"I always meant to send her copies of all that stuff." Benny said softly from the door, wincing as Storm looked up at him and cringed away from him, like she was scared of him and what he might do to her for catching her snooping. Pain sliced through him like someone had stabbed him in his heart. He'd put that look in the eyes of his daughter, his pride.

"Why'd you let me'n Matty think she was dead?" Storm knew she was in shock. She was too numb to the subject matter for there to be any question.

"People were after her because of me and Teddy. The only way to keep her safe was to send her away." Benny walked further into the room.

Storm watched him walking her way and she was overcome with an emotion she couldn't name. She knew it was either fear or loathing. Or maybe, given her current circumstances a mix of both. She stood up out of her father's chair and promptly almost fell down, finding out the hard way her position in the chair had put both her legs to sleep. Her father moved to catch her. "Don't touch me." She snarled as she used the edge of the desk to keep herself upright. She watched as pain flashed across her father's face at her harsh statement. She was too upset to care. Good for him to feel some pain. "You mean to tell me the danger to her was never taken care of? That she's still in this trouble now?"

"No." Benny sighed and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, letting her keep the desk between them to make her feel safe. "She's not now. But she was for a lot of years and by the time she wasn't we'd been apart too long and she was too mad at me for keeping you and Matty with me instead of sending you two with her for us to ever have our marriage back. She decided to stay in Florida and because I was mad at her I told her if she refused to live in New York and be a full time part of you and your brother's life then she wouldn't be any part of it."

"Why didn't you send us to live with her? You honestly think that me'n Matty have it better for having lived here with you instead? Jesus Christ, you left us with Teddy while you were in jail for fucks sake. You mean to tell me we had a mother we could have stayed with instead and you still left us with Teddy? That means that what happened to Matty and Bobby is solely on your shoulders."

"You couldn't have gone to your mother then. The guy who got me busted was the guy who was after her. He was still around then, he still would have loved to find her and kill her to get revenge on me. He would have followed the two of you right to her. I couldn't let you kids go with her when I sent her away. She was supposed to have died Storm! How would I have been able to explain where my kids went when my wife had just died? I could have sent _you_ with her, said you both died in the maternity ward, but then you wouldn't know Matty. Is that what you would rather I did!"

"I'd have rathered you told me and Matty when we were over 18 and let us decide if we wanted to contact her. You'd have let us just keep right on thinking she was dead if I hadn't come in here to snoop wouldn't you?" Her father didn't answer her, he just continued to look at his hands. "Wouldn't you have!" Storm roared at her father.

"Yes! I never planned to tell you she was still alive. Why should I have? She had her chance to come home Storm. Home to all of us, Matty, you, me. She turned it down to stay in Florida. Why should I have told you and Matty about her now? You're grown and so is your brother. I did my best I could by the both of you and I did it alone. All she had to do was move to New York and she could have been a part of your life but she wouldn't do it. I gave you everything I thought you needed. I did my best I could!."

"Yeah, you did your fucken best. That's a great comfort now that I know my brother's broken inside by his own uncle when it didn't have to happen and that my father and I have one fight and he slaps me around over it but I coulda been living with my mother all along and never been in that position."

"I did my best with you Storm. I never wanted this life for you, for either of you but what choice did I have? If I'da sent you to live with your mother they'd have found her and killed you all. I kept her alive and raised you two the best way I knew how. I know I fucked up my fair share Storm. Not for nothin but I don't know how you think you'd know anything about it. You've never had to give up anything in your life like I had to when I had to send my wife away and break her heart by taking her away from her babies."

"Oh didn't I? I give up stuff I want every day because you or Teddy wouldn't approve. He talk to you yet about breakin up me'n Taylor?" Storm sneered at her father as she snarled out her question, flying into a rage when her father dared to tell her she didn't know what it was like to make sacrifices.

"You and Taylor are together?" Benny asked in shock.

"You can't tell me Teddy didn't run to you and rant about it the second he had a chance."

"Teddy never told me nothin other then how he put a hit on Carlos for shooting Taylor. He never told me nothin about you and Taylor being some sorta item."

"Quell fucken surprise." Storm said, still snarling.

"Storm, calm down and we'll talk about this ok?" Benny had never seen his daughter so incensed.

"No I will not calm down so we can talk." Storm shook her head. All she knew was her brain was telling her she had to run away to find a place to sort out her thoughts. She looked at her father and started to map a path from where she was out the open door to the house around him. She figured she could out run him and then lock herself in her room. He'd never know she was gone unless he heard the Skyline start. She took off like a shot and ran straight up the stairs.

"Storm!" She heard her father call but she kept running and locked herself in her room where she promptly broke down into broken sobs.

Benny went back into his office, sat down heavily into his chair and started to straighten up his desk mindlessly. He'd really screwed up a lot in his life but he had to figure his current situation about took the screw up cake. He heard the water start and figured Storm was in the shower. He'd let her take the night to calm down and they'd talk tomorrow. He knew she had his temper and there was no sense talking to him when he was that pissed off either.

He went to bed, feeling older then he ever had before in his life.

xox

Storm got in the shower and forced herself into some semblance of calm. When she got out she did her hair and headed into her closet. She pulled out a pair of black pants that fit her snugly until her knees, where they flared out. She paired them with a black shirt that was shredded down the front and consisted of interwoven strings for the back. She tossed on her leather motorcycle style jacket and combat boots.

She opened the door of her room carefully and looked up and down the hall. The house was in darkness. It was only eleven o'clock so that was a bit strange, but Storm knew her brother wouldn't be home for hours and she could only figure her dad was licking his wounds in private someplace. She crept down the stairs as quietly as she could and back through the house, through the kitchen and out the back door.

She ran lightly over to the garage and started her car, taking off quickly as she could. She never saw a sign of her father and before she knew it she was at Overdrive and parking her car. She walked into the club, leaving her coat in her trunk when she filled her pockets.

She found CJ and Devon on the dance floor, and wondered what they were doing in the club on a Monday night. It was mostly an after races thing to them, not an every night activity like it mostly was for Storm. But she had her work to do and they just came to dance a bit and hang out. She headed out onto the floor to meet them. She came up behind Devon and grabbed him from behind. He turned around and found her standing there.

"Storm!" He pulled her into a hug. "Where were you yesterday?"

"Sick." Storm answered and the look on her face clearly told her friend it was an off limits topic.

"You sure look like you're feeling better now." CJ replied into her ear. He took in the large amounts of skin her top showed and grinned appreciatively.

"Thanks." She winked. "I'm gonna go get a drink. Either of you two want anything?" Both men told her what they'd like to drink, never able to say no to free drinks, and Storm went off to get their order.

She spent the next few hours dancing with her friends, and making her rounds. She ran into Ivan but didn't stop to talk to him long, worried he knew her well enough to guess something had happened and push for details she didn't want to give. If he knew how badly her father had hurt her he might take in into his head to handle it for her. Storm didn't know if the Russian man was good enough to off her father or even if he could employ anyone that good either, but she wasn't going to take her chances. Much as she hated her father right now, she didn't want him dead. She knew that there would come a point where she'd want some sort of relationship with him again. It just wasn't right now. She handed in all of the money she had for Ivan to him so she wouldn't have to carry it around with her. After she'd spoken to Ivan she headed back out to her friends with a drink in her hand.

The DJ spun Disco Inferno by 50 Cent and Storm and CJ started to dance to it, Storm shaking her ass in time to 50's requests of 'little mama show me how you move it. Go head put your back into it. Shake that ass girl!' Storm put her father and his lies out of her mind and just concentrated on having a good time with her friends. If she thought about everything he'd done, and everything she'd found out, she'd fly to pieces and god help anyone who said anything to her then.

Like they knew she was out to drown some sorrows they made sure her glass was never empty. Storm didn't notice herself getting drunk until she was already too far gone to care. She didn't like to get drunk very often because she hated to lose control over situations. She also knew she needed all the wits she had to keep control of her temper when people pissed her off. It was the way her father raised her, knowing the Demaret's played by different rules then the 'citizens' that made her so willing to play by her own laws, but she was also aware that some day it could get her into trouble that neither Ivan nor Benny could get her out of. But tonight none of that mattered. She continued to dance with CJ, Devon and some other people she knew. She got tired and decided to take another spin around the perimeter of the dance floor.

She was in the back section of the club when Taylor walked in. She knew he was there the second he got past the door. She noted with irony the song that had just started was Full Moon by Brandy.

"Boy I saw you as soon as you came bouncing through the door."

Storm moved around the floor, trying to ignore Taylor and just do her thing. She'd had enough fighting for one night and she knew by instinct that if Taylor had come back to Overdrive it was to have some sort of fight with her about something.

xox

Taylor paused inside the door of the dance club. He mentally kicked himself for being in the place after promising himself that he wouldn't end up back there again. He knew he was better off not knowing but his mind wouldn't let it rest there. He had to know what she was up to.

He watched her move around the place and finally she did her same strange handshake with some guy by the bar. Taylor waited until she'd moved away from the kid and then made his move. He walked up to the guy and stood beside him.

"What did she just give you?" Taylor asked the boy in a menacing voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about dude."

Taylor knew nervous when he saw it and the kid was very nervous. "Really? I think you do and you're scared shitless that I'm gonna bust you for whatever it is. I suggest you just tell me what it is and save me the trouble of making you and you the embarrassment of getting your ass kicked in front of this whole place."

"I really got no clue what you're talking about."

The kid was even more scared when Taylor persisted then he had been before. "I saw her hand you something so why don't you just give it to me and save me beating it outta you? Easier for you and quieter for me."

Like he knew he couldn't win the kid put his hand into his pocket and handed Taylor a small Ziploc bag with what looked, on first inspection, like a small blue candy to Taylor. He flipped it over and there was a bolt of lightening embossed onto the front. "What is this?"

"You don't get out much do you?" The kid asked. Taylor gave him a look letting him know how foolish it was to bait him. "Ok already, shit. It's just a little vitamin E."

"She's selling vitamins in a club? Do I look stupid to you?" Taylor growled low in his chest.

"Man, it's not a real vitamin." The kid clearly couldn't fathom how Taylor could not have gotten what he was holding by now. "You know, vitamin E, its slang for X." When Taylor still didn't look like he got it the kid lowered his voice a bit. "As in ecstasy, the rave drug. Ringing any bells yet?"

Taylor stuffed the pill into his pocket without a word and walked away, hunting for Storm. He found her in the back corner of the room with her friends.

"I thought you were gonna call me later." Storm asked as Taylor walked up to where she was sitting on a stool at a table with her friends.

"Yeah, well I had to get away from Scarpa and Marbles so I came here."

"You didn't leave my brother alone with those two in some rough bar did you?"

"No, I took him home first. Storm I need to talk to you, outside." Taylor could tell Storm was more then a little drunk and he didn't want to make a scene with her inside the Russian man's club.

"I'm not ready to go home yet."

"I'm not looking to go home, I'm looking to talk to you in private."

Storm winked at her friends. "He needs to see me in private." She giggled as she allowed Taylor to lead her out of the bar into the cold night air. She shivered as the cold air hit her skin in a startling contrast from the hot humid air of the club. She wished she hadn't left her coat in her car. She rubbed her arms as she caught the full force of the autumn wind.

"What are you doing for the Russian Storm?" Taylor growled.

"Nothing. I'm just here having a few drinks with my friends." Storm continued to protest her innocence.

"Bullshit Storm." Taylor pulled the little bag out of his pocket. "This isn't having a few drinks with friends. This is a few years in the pen for trafficking."

"I don't know what that is." Storm looked away, her eyes slightly unfocused from her inebriation.

"I'd love to believe that. But I saw you hand it to the kid, and I'd love to know who else would stamp lightning into something like drugs."

"It's just a job Taylor." Storm gave up on denying what she was doing when it was clear Taylor wasn't going to be fooled no matter how much she protested. "I don't see the big deal."

"You don't see the big deal." Taylor tossed his head with a disbelieving snort as he fought to remain calm. _She didn't see the big deal._ "Would you see the big deal if you wound up in jail?"

"That isn't gonna happen."

"Really? Tell that to all the drug dealers doing hard time Storm. It could easily happen."

"Not for me. I only sell it in Ivan's club and the cops are very well aware his club is a no fly zone."

"I just can't believe you're selling drugs." Taylor was getting frustrated by Storm's cavalier attitude on the subject.

"Why not? I had to get a job to make some money and I can do this on my own time. I make enough to live on and it saves me asking my dad for money to live my life with. I'm always around this club anyway so what's the difference? I'm here all the time and if it wasn't me it'd just be someone else." Storm was sobering up more and more the longer Taylor kept her out in the cold, and the more she had to think about her father. Thinking of her father made her think of what had gone down in his office earlier in the evening.

"The difference is you get caught with this stuff you're going to jail. Not to mention how many people die from taking drugs. You're selling people something that could end up killing them Storm! That's not cool."

"Ok, pot, meet kettle. Shit Taylor, you work for my uncle. You think he makes his money selling girl scout cookies? The only thing different here is Teddy pays _you_ to do his dirty work and I'm out doing my own. You think you couldn't go to jail over what you do for Teddy? How many guys have you directly killed because Teddy told you to? Sure people who take too much or whatever might get sick or die, but I didn't put a gun to their head and make them take anything now did I? Where as you do put a gun to people's heads then you pull the trigger. They have no control over when that happens to them."

Taylor didn't like hearing the tables turned on him. She was totally correct, much as he hated to admit it. But he also knew she'd killed people that same way. That wasn't the issue at hand though, her pushing drugs was. "That's totally different. I'm only involved with guys who knew what they were getting into in the first place. What goes on in our world stays in our world. People got involved with their eyes open. It's not like you haven't put a few guys outta their misery yourself miss Glock for my 18th birthday. Besides that, I know I could go to jail over it but it'd be harder to prove anything I do then it would be for the cops to catch you with this stuff on you or in your car."

Storm gave a violent shake as her body temperature dropped even lower and her teeth started to chatter. Taylor was right, she'd grappled with the same moral issues herself for awhile before she finally had decided to go ahead and take the job for Ivan. She knew her reaction had a lot to do with thinking about the scene with her father as well as the cold. Going to jail over what she did wasn't a concern for her. Ivan's club was a no fly zone. With another violent shiver she realized she was about at the end of her endurance and she was going to crash soon. Everything was washing back on her with vengeance. She didn't have it in her to fight with Taylor too. Not after everything she'd already dealt with. She gagged slightly. "Taylor?"

"What?" The tone of her voice calmed him down in some ways and scared him in others.

"Can you take me home now? I don't feel well." Storm looked up at Taylor. Her head had just started aching and she didn't know how much longer she could manage to stay on her feet.

Like he saw that Taylor let their discussion go, for now. He took his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Your car be safe here over night?"

"Yeah, no one would dare touch it in this parking lot." She burrowed into Taylor's coat, pulling it closer around her.

Instead of answering Taylor led Storm over to his van and helped her in. He didn't ask her where she wanted to go but simply drove to his place and parked the van. After he had her tucked under a blanket on his couch with a big glass of water in her hand he went to the bathroom. When he came back Storm made room for him between her and the arm of the couch and motioned that he should sit down. He did, wondering what she had on her mind. When he was settled she leaned against him and chugged down half her water in one go.

"I decided to go through my dad's office tonight." Storm started telling Taylor about her night. She had to tell someone and she wasn't sure how to tell her brother.

"Why?"

"I was pissed at him, looking for dirt to hold over his head."

"Not smart Storm."

"I found all these files."

"Do I want to hear this? If he finds out I know about whatever you saw will I be in danger?"

"No. Do you think I'd tell you if that was the case?"

Taylor shrugged.

"I wouldn't. The files were all this stuff from Matty and me in school. All our report cards and projects. He saved every last thing we ever took home. Then at the bottom I found a file about Cara Miles. Cara was my mother's name but she wasn't ever a Miles."

"What was in the file?"

"My dad forced my mom to go into hiding to protect her from someone who was looking to use her against him. He faked her death on the night she had me and shipped her down to Florida under an assumed name. Miles was her mother's maiden name."

"So she didn't die having you?"

"No. She's not dead at all as a matter of fact. She's still living as Cara Miles in Miami Florida. She refused to have dad back when the threat was neutralized and because she wouldn't get back with him he refused her any rights to me and Matty."

"Does Matty know?"

"No. I only found out tonight and he admitted he never would have told me if I hadn't found out about her myself."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I just don't know Tay. It was a hell of a time to find out about it, after all the shit with Dad and plus Matty trying to step up. I didn't need this right now."

"Do you want to meet her? Or are you mad at her for not making more of an effort?"

"Who knows how much effort she made? If dad didn't want her around us then she wouldn't be able to come around us. Dad gets his way when it comes to stuff like that."

"No kidding. Would you be able to find her if you wanted to?"

"Yeah, I stole the piece of paper with her current address on it. I just don't know what to do Taylor." Storm found she wasn't quite as good at being numb as she thought. She started to cry softly against Taylor's hard body. He shifted around to wrap his good arm around her. He never knew what to say to crying females. He stood up and held a hand out to her.

"Let's go to bed. It'll look better in the morning."

Storm took his hand and allowed him to lead her into his room. She changed into the oversized tee shirt he handed her and crawled into his bed, then into his arms after he joined her on the cool sheets. She fell asleep with her head pillowed on his uninjured shoulder, thinking. _So complicated_.


	11. Missing You Missing Me

**Velocity Shift**

By _TempestRaces_

Chapter 11 – **Missing You Missing Me**

Storm woke up with a groan. She fought to remind herself the room wasn't really spinning, it was just her senses that were off. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so hung over. It was a harsh reminder of one of the other main reasons why she didn't drink. She always paid through the nose the next day. She started to sit up but fell back onto the bed with a heartfelt moan. Every time she vowed never again but yet eventually there always came an again. _Will I ever learn?_ Storm mused as she berated herself mentally. Of course her illness kept all her other issues off her mind. For now.

_Why won't the room stop spinning?_ She thought as she lay in Taylor's bed in abject misery. She was glad she was alone as she fought to get up out of the bed ungracefully and with little success. She knew if she didn't make the bathroom she was going to make a big nuisance of herself because she had to be sick, and it had to be sooner then later. She moved toward the door of the bedroom, using the various furniture throughout the room for support. Just as she would have reached the doorway Taylor's form filled it.

"I was just coming to check and see if you were still alive." He took in her slightly green appearance. "Are you ok?"

Storm shook her head no and moved to push past him. It was clear he didn't quite grasp how dire the situation was because he didn't move out of her way.

"Well what's wrong?"

Storm looked up at him with panic spreading over her face. If he didn't get out of her way pronto he was going to get a very nasty surprise. She moved to push past him again. "Gonna be sick." She croaked out.

That got Taylor moving. He flattened against the wall to let her dash by. She made it to the bathroom in the nick of time, hitting her knees on the floor and making an offering to the porcelain god.

Taylor came in and sat on the edge of the tub, gathering her hair out of her face and rubbing her back as she retched again. "Why did you drink so much if you can't hold your liquor?"

"I didn't know how much I was drinking. Devon and CJ were buying my drinks and I just kept finding my glass full. I don't drink like this, ever." Storm moaned as she rocked back on her heels. She figured some cosmic force didn't think she had been mortified enough for one day because she promptly fell on her butt on the cold tiles. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to comprehend how unfair it was for her to both be violently ill in front of Taylor and then fall on her derrière in front of him in the same minute of time. She happened to glance at Taylor and he was clearly fighting a fit of laughter at her expense.

His chin was quivering like he was fighting tears and his shoulders were shaking. He snorted in his attempt to keep his laughter contained. It was the last straw for Storm. She both hated the fact she was about to cry in front of him again, and figured it served him right for laughing at her.

It started with a sniffle as she looked down at her lap, her hair shielding her face from his laughing black eyes. Then her shoulders started to shake and her chin started to quiver. Before she knew it she was sobbing like a baby with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees.

Taylor moaned to himself. Now he'd really gone and done it. He'd made Storm cry more in the last 72 hours then she had in the previous twelve years he'd known her. "Don't cry Storm. I didn't mean to be mean."

"It's bad enough I'm sick as I am then I fall and then you _laugh_ at me!" Storm wailed. She honestly couldn't stop crying but she knew she was also pushing it over the top to really stick it to Taylor.

"I didn't mean to laugh 'Ella." Taylor moved from the edge of the tub to the floor and sat behind Storm, wrapping his mobile arm around her and kissing the crown of her head awkwardly. "You just looked so shocked when you fell back. I wasn't laughing at _you_ exactly." Taylor knew he wasn't making it better but he was no good at these things. "Please don't cry. What's up with you anyway? Is it gonna be that-"

"If that sentence ends in 'time of the month' and you finish it I'll make you regurgitate your nuts. Consider it fair warning." Storm hiccupped out, cutting him off in a watery yet decidedly mad voice.

Taylor chuckled softly. She'd be about the only female on earth he'd actually believe could get close enough to carry out the threat. "Fair enough. Seriously Storm, what's up with all the tears?"

"If you somehow came to find out your dad wasn't really dead, that your mom lied to you about these last twenty years do you think you could just take it in stride?" Storm asked, her face still pressed against her legs.

Taylor sighed against her neck. No he couldn't. He didn't know what she was going to do about it, and as such he didn't know what to tell her. "I know I couldn't. But I know you and Matty would be there for me. And we'll be here for you Storm."

"Matty can't be anywhere for me in this because he's just as in the dark as I was. But guess who'll end up getting to enlighten him. Jesus Taylor, you know what happened to Matty because he had to live with Teddy. Technically Dad shoulda found a way to send us both to our mother, but instead he sent us to live with our satanically evil uncle."

"Much as I hate to say it Storm you need to have this out with your dad. He's the only one with the answers. Then someone does have to tell Matty."

"The way I feel about Pop right now if I ever talk to him again it'll be too soon."

"You don't mean that 'Ella. This is your dad we're talking about. You think that man walks on water and that the sun rises out of his ass."

"I use to. Now I'm not so sure. I always thought that there was a line he wouldn't cross. A line between how he ran his business and how he looked at me. And Matty. I thought that family was different but he treated me just like any other employee who pissed him off."

"If you were just any employee who pissed him off by telling him to fuck off you'd be dead right now."

"Maybe, but you should have seen him when he told me that my mother didn't have a right to be a part of my life because she committed the sin of deciding she didn't want to take him back after he ripped her away from her four year old son and newborn daughter and sent her away on her own for years. He seems to think he can play god with everyone. I never thought that mentality was how he saw me'n Matty at the very least. How wrong I was."

Taylor sighed angrily. He still couldn't go kill her father for her so he had to do something to take his mind off the rage that was building. "Come on. Up off the floor. You're going back to bed with a big glass of water and sleeping until you feel better." Taylor stood up and picked Storm up onto her feet.

"I'm never gonna feel better again." Storm mumbled as she used the edge of the sink for balance as she washed her mouth out and then allowed Taylor to help her back to his bed and tuck her in. He was back with a huge glass of cool water a minute later and watched while she drank it all, and used some of it to take two Tylenol.

"Ok, now back to sleep so it stays down." Taylor told her as he took the glass out of her hand.

"Stay here with me until I fall asleep?" Storm requested, looking up at Taylor with her big, hurt green eyes.

"Shove over then." He requested rather than answer her and crawled in after her when she made room. He waited until she was clearly deep in sleep and then got back up. He headed to the living room and called Matty's cell phone.

"Hello?" Matty's worried voice came across the line.

"Stop worrying about her, she's here with me."

"Thank god. How'd you find her? Dad says she was just in her room when he went to bed."

"Found her at that club she likes so much."

"Chris said she never showed up."

"She was there. She was loaded outta her damn mind and I took her outta there before Chris showed."

"Storm was drunk?"

"Yeah. Very drunk." Taylor didn't want to go into the whys with Matty. He knew it was Storm's story to tell her brother how she saw fit. She also didn't want to tell her brother what she was doing in the club at night. Matty would see red and Storm would not appreciate him telling her brother what she did and Taylor knew it. "I guess her friends were buying her drinks and she didn't know how much she was drinking."

"Makes sense then. Storm doesn't get drunk. She says she's too scared of what she'll do to someone someday if she's not in control of her actions."

"Can't blame her." That was also the reason why Taylor didn't really partake of alcohol beyond the occasional beer with the boys.

"Dad won't tell me anything about what they fought about. Not the first time or what they fought about last night. I'm worried about it all and I found out why Dad's in such a bad mood lately."

"Why?"

"I'm not gonna go into it over the cell. I'll tell you when we meet up next. I don't know what to make of it and you honestly know my Uncle Teddy better then I do at this point in my life."

"It involves Teddy?" _Great_, Taylor thought. _Just what I need, trouble with Teddy Deserve._

"Yeah, but we'll talk soon. I assume you'll be dropping Storm off at her car and not driving her right home?"

"Even if she didn't leave her car someplace you know I'd never drive her home when your dad's there."

"Well, about that. Storm told him about the two of you last night. I guess she figured that Teddy already would have told him. He doesn't seem mad about it at all. I don't know if it's because he figures he better leave well enough alone with Storm or because he just honestly thinks you're a good match for her. But in either case he's not pissed."

"Is that good?"

"I think so. Storm's his baby girl. He's worse about her then me if that's believable. Of the two of us he's way more protective over Storm, even though she's the one who's shown time and time again she can handle herself. If he was gonna have a problem with her seeing you he wouldn't have been hiding it. He wouldn't have been able to. He'd have been ready to kill you on the spot. He seemed surprised, but not unhappy. There certainly wasn't any ranting and raving out of him over it."

"I honestly don't know what to make of that."

"Me either but I'm not worried about it. I am worried about my sister though. Is she really ok?"

"Yeah, she's asleep. I'll let her know you wanna talk to her when she wakes up."

"Ok, talk to you later then."

"Later." Taylor hung up his phone and sat down to watch some TV while he let Storm sleep.

xox

Matty sat down hard on the couch in his room and hung his head into his hands. He thought back on the scene he'd experienced with his uncle the several nights before.

"_This little bid on the handball court. You know, talking about being ready? You meant that shit right?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Cause we been down this road before, Matty."_

"_I was twelve years old Teddy. How long you hold that against me, huh?"_

"_Time to move past it?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_You think so?"_

"_Fucken A."_

"_So do I and I told your father that."_

"_You did?" Matty questioned incredulously and watched as his uncle nodded to the affirmative._

"_Really." Teddy motioned with his cigarette. "Remember the problem we were talking about?"_

"_Shortages?"_

"_Right. Georgie Yarkas out in Spokane is floating your father some wood for the short term but we gotta go get it and we got no one we can trust. We're still hashing out the details but you could be involved. I did what I could Matty, it's on you to convince him."_

_Matty looked at his uncle Teddy in shock. He was getting his shot. He watched as Teddy poked him softly in the chest and turned to leave. "I'll see you at the hall later?"_

"_Yeah." Matty stayed where he was, leaning on the damp brick wall of his father's gentleman's club.. _

_Teddy turned back to him, as though he realized he had forgotten something as a after though. "Matty?"_

"_Yeah Teddy?"_

"_Let's not talk about this with your sister, huh? She'll just worry and make everything more difficult then it has to be. Especially in the moods she'll be in over the fights with her father. Ok?"_

"_Sure Teddy." Matty had known his sister wouldn't like it and had gladly agreed not to tell Storm anything. She'd forbid it and Matty felt he had no choice._

_They each went their own ways with their own thoughts. Matty had a sick feeling in his stomach. He told Teddy, his father, his sister it was what he wanted but he knew damn well it wasn't. It was sheer desperation of ever getting anything else, not a love of the game that had driven him to this point. He had nothing else. Nothing but his father's name and a knowledge that a man had to earn money to earn his keep._

Matty thought back and realized it had been five nights previous that he'd talked to his uncle outside Pizzo's. His chance to talk to his father about the job hadn't come until three nights later, last night. That meant it had been five days since his last failed interview and only five days his sister had been dating his best friend. Where had the time gone? It was crazy to think how long that week had felt. It felt like he'd been living with the knowledge of what he was going to attempt forever, felt like he'd been watching his sister deal with her own personal hell forever. He remembered the meeting with his dad and knew it was part of the reason why he was still upset. To say it hadn't started well was an understatement.

_When he'd shown up at the hall he'd been in a good mood, saying hello to the staff. He knew they all loved him. What wasn't to love? He never took out his frustrations on them, not like his father and sister. He noted Storm's conspicuous absence from behind the bar. She never worked the hall anymore. It had started long before her clashes with the old man but she was nonexistent from their business life now. She was always too busy doing her own thing with her car and whatever the hell else she was into and Matty knew it was another reason why his father was testy. He could run all the game he wanted about Storm and her need to stay out of the life, but he was really happy to have her involved, at least in the ways he wanted to let her be involved. But now she was more involved in her own world, with her Russian friend Ivan and her new relationship with Taylor and Matty knew his father was missing his daughter. He always grumbled about her involvement around the life and then went out of his way to show her off to his cronies, how well she could shoot, run game, organize things and scheme. How very _Demaret_ she was._

_Matty's good mood had lasted him the whole way through the restaurant, after he'd said hello to Vito, and all the way downstairs past the exuberant craps game his father's cronies had going. He'd even managed to grin at his uncles offer to 'help himself to a cummerbund'. Then he went into a closed door meeting with his father and uncle._

_The ensuing scene in his father's office had done little to alleviate Matty's sense of impending doom. "You need this money picked up from Yarkas in Spokehan I'm your guy."_

"_The answer's no. You get detected crossing state lines with all that lumber and feds trace you back to me, I'm fucked here."_

"_Listen I can get this done for you. Marbles has got a plane he can fly out and pick it up."_

"_Better that way. Besides, it's a simple fucken run." Teddy moved from the couch he had been sitting on over closer to Matty. Matty looked at his uncle in shock, not having expected to get any further assistance out of Teddy._

"_Hold on! Marbles? He is half an idiot and that is the good half."_

"_Come on, he's in he's out." Teddy further championed Matty's cause. It was making Matty decidedly uneasy. Why was Teddy so gung ho to help him out all of a sudden?_

"_Alright pop listen to me would ya. I swear to god he's turned it around. And I'll oversee the whole thing. Give me this much, I can get this job done."_

"_Matty, I hate to knife you here but it's my experience a guy gets something done because he has to. Now maybe it's my doing, the way I raised you in privilege and such, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what it is you need! Not for nothing but most guys go in for it 'cause they ain't got no other way to survive."_

_Matty looked at his father. Really looked, and he didn't like what he saw. The old man still saw him as a scared twelve year old who couldn't put a bullet into an old family friend's head on the circumstantial evidence presented by his uncle. He'd tried to live the live of an everyday citizen and he couldn't do it. No one would look at him twice because of his father. From where he stood Matty had no choice, just like all the guys his father was talking about. He couldn't see where he had another way to survive either. No one would hire him and he wasn't willing to live off his old man's charity forever. _

"_Oh yeah." Matty nodded like he understood. "Well neither do I."_

_Benny looked at him, and Matty felt like he'd really looked for the first time in a long time and saw something beyond the 12 year old kid he'd been told didn't have the stomach for their life. At the end of the meeting he and Marbles had been charged with getting the money from Spokane to New York. The sense of doom Matty had started the whole operation with hadn't abated. He was still literally sick to his stomach over the whole thing. He'd gone home to bed right after, trying to get his mind off it all._

So that was why his father was in a permanent bad mood. Someone was stealing his money and he had no one he could trust to go after the replacement cash. No wonder he was short with Storm lately. Her antics had all been on top of the stress of not knowing what he was going to do about his money and who was taking it. Matty sighed. His chance to step up. He should be on cloud fucken nine. So why did he feel like he was sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic with no hope in hell of getting to the surface ever again?

xox

Teddy sat on his leather couch with a smile on his face. His nephew had fallen for the bait hook line and sinker. Kid thought he had nothing else. He couldn't see the facts right in front of his face. Benny loved the kid without rhyme or reason. Matty could live in the old man's house and eat his food for the rest of his life and Benny would never say a thing beyond his typical grumblings, talking just to hear himself. Matty, his only begotten son.

Which brought his only daughter to the front of Teddy's mind. If she stayed occupied with Taylor, like Teddy figured she would, and out of her brother's life then things would surely go according to plan. Of course Storm had never stayed out of her brother's life before but they did say there was a first time for everything.

If Benny ever woke up himself and realized it only made sense to let Storm step up then Teddy knew his plans would all be screwed but he was fairly confident he could finish his operation before that would ever happen and then it would be irrelevant.

Yes, Matty Demaret had to end up out of the picture. Storm too for that matter. Death for one and marriage to a man who could finally control her for the other. Then Teddy would be free to eliminate their father and finally take over the business. He knew were he a normal human he'd feel some guilt over killing his sister's son and imprisoning her daughter into a loveless marriage. With an evil smile he thanked the fates he wasn't a normal human being. With his sister permanently out of her children's lives she wouldn't even know what was going down, let alone be able to come to their rescue.

Marbles was bound to fuck the run up, leaving it easily plausible for Teddy to take him out for his fuck ups. Marbles never did anything right and he never would. He was just one of those people in life who didn't seem to be able to act smart to save their own life. And of course, in this case, if Marbles didn't manage to act smart it would mark the end of his.

Of course that wouldn't be enough to justify taking Matty out, but it wouldn't be too hard for the kid to meet with an unfortunate accident. And then when his daughter was whisked off to the old country and married to one of their distant relatives in Sicily Benny would be almost beside himself with grief over losing both his children. That would be when Teddy would move in and finish him too, turning the Demaret empire into the Deserve empire.

Things would finally be the way they were meant to be.

xox

Matty called up Johnny Marbles first thing when he woke up..

"Marbles I got us an opportunity. I need you to fly out to Feld's Field. They'll be a guy there named Gorgie Yarkas. He's gonna hand you a bag. Now don't open the bag, don't look in the bag, don't let go of the bag. Only stop for fuel and get right back in your plane and fly straight home to me. You got it?"

"Yeah Matty I got it."

"Marbles?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't fuck this up."

xox

Storm woke up feeling much better then the first time she'd risen. She got dressed in her same clothes from the evening previous and went to the washroom. When she was finished there she headed out to Taylor's living room and found him watching TV. He looked up at her entrance.

"You look better."

"I feel better. You wanna drive me to my car?"

"Sure. Let's go." Taylor picked up his keys and they headed down to the van. Taylor started it and watched Storm out of the corner of his eye. "What's on your mind?"

"My mother. I have to meet her Tay. I can't just know she's down there and never find out what happened. Why she never came up to New York. Why she abandoned me and Matty. I need to hear from her what went on."

"You just gonna show up on her step or somethin Storm?"

"I guess. I was thinking that I'd drive down. Take longer and I need a break from all this anyway. I want to know what she has to say before I talk to Matty. No sense hurting him by telling him she's alive if she doesn't want anything to do with us."

"You don't have to protect Matty from every hurt Storm. He's 24 years old. He won't break."

"Maybe not, but there's no sense in telling him and then telling him she doesn't want anything to do with us."

"I really think you should tell him either way. If you don't you're just doing what your father did. Protecting him because you think it's the right thing to do. Did you or did you not tell me that you think you should have been allowed to make up your own mind on the topic?"

"I did, but I just don't know. I'm gonna go meet her first Taylor. Then I'll tell Matty either way ok?"

"It's your life Storm. I won't interfere. I'm just sayin I think he has to know."

"That's two things I like about you Taylor. You keep your nose outta other people's business and you give me info straight up. You don't sugar coat shit and I appreciate that."

Taylor shrugged. "Other people's business gets you killed in this life and telling fairy tales eventually does the same thing."

"Either way, other then the whole Ivan thing you keep your nose outta my affairs and that's rare when you're me. Most of the guys in my life can't wait to meddle. I like people who keep it real."

"Don't get me started on the whole Ivan thing." Taylor growled, not willing to let her think the issue was closed in his mind.

"Ok, ok, don't start on me now. I got enough on my plate as is. I won't be doing too much for him until I get home from Miami anyways."

They pulled up beside her car and Storm was glad to see it was unmolested. "I'll talk to you later."

"Don't flee the state without letting me know you're going. Since you ain't telling Matty and I'm bettin you ain't gonna be doin too much talkin to Benny you better let me know you're leaving. Someone needs to know where you are Storm and since you already told me it may as well be me. Ok?"

"Sure." Storm's eyes looked uncertain when he brought up her actually making the trip to Florida.

"You want me to go with you?" Taylor didn't know where the offer came from since he really had no desire to do so but he wouldn't take it back once it was made. She might need moral support.

"No, I'll be ok. It's not that far a drive and I'll either be welcomed by my loving mother or told to take a hike by a woman who doesn't want shit all to do with me. I'm better off doing it alone. I'll call you when I'm on the freeway."

"When you leavin?"

"This afternoon. No sense putting it off."

"Ok. Later."

"Yeah, later." Storm moved to get out of the van. She paused and turned to look back at Taylor. "You gonna miss me? Even just a little?"

Taylor didn't know if she was serious or teasing him. He didn't want to answer like she was teasing in case she wasn't and he made her cry again. He thought for a second. "Well, maybe just a little."

"Only a little?" She questioned as she moved to the edge of the captain's chair she was sitting in and leaned in toward Taylor.

"Well, maybe a bit more then just a little." Taylor went along with her teasing, finding it better then when she was sobbing on his floor.

"How much more?" Storm asked, forcing her face into a wide eyed, breathless look of anticipation of his answer.

"At least this much more." Taylor answered and held up his first finger and thumb a few inches apart.

"That's not that much more."

Taylor shrugged, as though to say take it or leave it. Storm got an unholy light in her eyes. Taylor feared for what was to come. She stood up in the confines of the van, bent over by the low roof and leaned in toward him, placing her hands on his shoulders. He wasn't sure if he was going to like where this was going. She kissed him with a feather light touch, teasing his lips really, before she moved on to feather little brushes of her lips against his jaw bone, ear, and neck. He fought a groan what she was doing to him made him want to let loose.

She moved back out of his reach abruptly and opened the door, jumping down to the pavement below. "I think that'll make sure you miss me more then this much." She parroted his hand movement and grinned.

"Get back in this car right now." Taylor growled, the only thing on his mind finishing what she started.

"I got places to be. Miss me while I'm gone and we'll talk when I get home." She dashed around to her car, started it up and took off, the whole while Taylor sat in a stupor in his idling van, wondering what bizarre power Stormianna Demaret had over him that no other female ever had in his entire memory of his life.

xox

Storm got home and dashed up to her room. She pulled a duffle bag out of her closet and started tossing clothes into it. _It's warm in Miami right?_ She asked herself as she packed haphazardly, trying to pack what she figured she'd need if she ended up staying awhile. Jeans, tanks, track pants, tee shirts

"What are you doing?" Matty asked from his position leaning on the doorjamb of her room.

"Packing. I'm going on a road trip for awhile Matty. I need a break."

"Who's going with you?"

Storm thought a minute. If she told him she was going alone would he freak out at her? But if she told him Devon he'd be on the phone to the other man the second her back was turned. She figured she'd just have to have faith in her ability to control her brother and tell him the truth. "No one. It's a spur of the moment thing and I'm just going. It's only a few days."

Matty wanted to protest but in actual fact Storm being out of the state was just going to make his life easier. He wasn't going to have to worry about lying to her by omission or lying to her about anything if she caught him working for Teddy. "Well, if you're sure you'll be ok alone. Drive safe."

Storm looked up at Matty in shock. "That's it? No hell no you ain't goin alone, no I'm coming with you?"

"You sound like this is something you really need to do."

"It is. I'll call you when I get where ever it is I'm goin." Storm's light green gaze clashed with her brother's dark one. Something wasn't right. This was not the overprotective Matty she'd come to know. He should be pitching a fit, telling her there was no way she was going alone. He should be telling her to take Taylor or Devon, anyone, but no way was she going alone. Something was up here, but she didn't have time or energy to deal with it. Taylor was always saying Matty could take care of himself so this time she was just going to have to leave him to his own devices to do his thing. Her brother looked away first.

"Ok. Take carea you Storm. You're all I got."

"Same goes for you bro." Storm and her brother hugged and Matty left the room, struggling with his own emotions and his fear of where his sister was running too. Why did she have to decide to take off now, when there was no way on earth he could go with her, keep her out of the trouble she always got herself into.

What if she did something stupid on some other place where he wasn't around to calm her, sooth her, keep her out of trouble? Damn girl was just as like as not to shoot people who pissed her off when she was mad. She needed him, or second to him Taylor, to keep her out of trouble and out of court and jail. But she had to grow up someday and it might as well be now, Matty figured, since there was nothing he could do about it anyway.

When her brother left the room Storm fired the CD player on and cranked the volume. It started out blasting 'You Belong to the City'.

_'Cause you belong to the city_

_You belong to the night_

_living in a river of darkness, beneath the neon light_

_You belong to the city_

_you belong to the street_

_Its in your moves, its in your blood_

Storm finished her packing, singing along and finally zipping the bag closed with a confident motion that she didn't really feel.

Unbeknownst to her, her father was watching her from the open bedroom door, wondering where she was going, yet figuring he knew in his heart the only place it would be. She was running away from him to find her mother. The parent who, while had let her down, hadn't done it of her own free will. The song on her stereo changed from the old Glenn Frey hit he was familiar with yet still surprised his daughter liked to some rap tune that left him totally out of his element. He watched his daughter fill her bag, her movements so much like his own.

_You pierced a hole in my heart from all the pain you caused_

_With no direction you left your first born lost_

_Give or take a few_

_Cause my hate for you_

_Grew, …_

_Through blood, sweat, and tears_

_I wanted to be just like you_

_My father figure…_

_How the fuck do you sleep at night?_

_Knowin you wronged the only thing you ever did right._

The answer was he didn't sleep at night because she _was_ the only thing he'd ever done right, and he had wronged her terribly. He was successful at his job, but his job was to be professionally wrong. He was always on the wrong side of the law, wrong side of any moral judgement call. He'd done wrong by his son, by his wife, by everyone but his daughter. She hadn't been broken by her uncle and he'd raised her to be strong. But now he'd wronged her like he ended up wronging everything else in his life. He watched as she closed her bag, sunglasses flashing on top of her head in the long, riotously curly hair, so much like her mother's, until you figured in the blond colour he hated so much on his daughter. Her jeans hanging around her hips and one of those little tee shirts she loved baring the small of her back to the world finished out her look.

He had thought, that by letting her run wild and indulging her every whim he was showing her how much he cared about her but he knew now he was wrong. He should have showed her he loved her in normal ways, not tried to use material things and a lack of active parenting to show her instead. And now she was walking out of his house, out of his state, and perhaps even out of his life.

xox

Storm shouldered her bag and stood up. That was that. She only had to gas up the Skyline and she was leaving New York. It was her city, her home. She belonged to the city and it to her. But now she was leaving it all behind. It never would have happened before her falling out with her father. She never would have been parted from her empire state, but now she knew there was something she needed that she simply couldn't find at home, even in the city that never sleeps. She turned to leave the room after silencing the stereo only to find her father in the doorway.

"Father." Storm said in her frostiest tone as she watched her father block her exit. "Do you need something?"

"Don't go throwin that fancy education you got in my face with those big words and proper accent now Stormi girl. Where you goin?"

"My name is Storm and it's none of your concern. I'm goin and I'll be back when I'm back." Storm answered in her very street slang accent and started toward the door, fully intending to push her father out of her way.

"We both know where you're goin Stormianna so why don't you just put my mind at ease and tell me so I'll know for sure you're safe while you're gone."

"Taylor knows where I'm goin so I'll be fine."

"Why don't you take him with you then?"

"Cause I don't want to take him with me." Storm stood with a hand on her hip, not wanting to discuss the matter with her father any more.

"But why? I don't want you out there alone Storm. There's too much that could happen to you."

"I'm not taking him with me because I'd rather leave him home here for Matty to protect him from the shit you and Teddy tend to throw around." Storm finally answered brutally and watched as her father's face fell in hurt. "I'll be fine on my own. The worst thing that ever happened to me happened right here, and I've proven time and time again I can take care of myself."

"If you say so." Benny moved out of her way and Storm marched down the stairs and out the front door.

She could feel his eyes on her back as she strode down the driveway. She turned around to face him from beside her car. She was feeling a strange sensation she wasn't familiar with, and was guessing it could very well be depression. She wasn't familiar with it at all. "I'll be back when I'm ready. You betta take care of my brother cause if I find out anything happened to him while I'm gone I'm holding you accountable and you might just find yourself finding out first hand what it's like to sleep with the fishes." Storm watched her father's breathe hitch at the implication and knew she was again pushing him farther then was safe just to see what he'd do. She figured she was so close to her car he'd know there wasn't much he could do before she'd be inside with the doors locked.

"Storm, I know you're still mad at me, hell, I'm still mad at myself, but do you have to run off mad like this? Parents and children fight. It doesn't mean you have to take off like this."

"I have a mother! You let me think I killed her for 20 years! We didn't just fight pop."

"I never told you that you killed your mother. Where'd you get that idea Storm?" Benny looked like something had occurred to him. "Did Teddy or Theresa tell you that?" He growled, knowing that Storm would never have to worry about her aunt again if that old bag had put the idea into Storm's head. Benny would kill the old bat himself.

"No, you did. You told me she died having me. She died from a brain aneurism from giving birth remember? That was the story you always told. So if she hadn't had me she still woulda been alive." Storm had never told anyone of her guilty feelings on that matter. She knew it wasn't rational, that her mother couldn't have known she was going to die from having her baby, that had she known after she was pregnant she would have had Storm anyway, and that anything could have ruptured the aneurism not just giving birth. But still, she'd grown up knowing that because she had been born her mother had died.

"Women die having babies Storm. That's just how it is. It doesn't make it the baby's fault. If you'd ever told me you felt like this I would have explained it all."

"Yeah, cause you're a fucken easy man to approach. I mean, just look at what happens when I have a bad experience and try to talk to you about it." Storm threw her still bruised cheek in her father's face and both felt better and much worse when he grimaced.

"I'm sorry Storm I really am. I got a lotta shit goin down right now and I know I'm irritable. I can't say I'm sorry enough for that but are you gonna hold it against me forever?"

"Might notta if I hadn'ta found out you also kept my mama from me for years after you didn't have to all cause she didn't want you no more. So what? So she was finished wit you. Was she finished wit me'n Matty too? Or did you force her to be because she thwarted you and you reacted like a spoiled child too used to getting his own way?"

Benny had the good sense to look embarrassed. "I told her not to come around if she wasn't going to live in New York permanently. All she had to do was live here. I never told her she had to live in this house or stay with me. She didn't want to leave Miami so I told her she wasn't going to be a part time parent. That was her choice."

"Will Cara tell it the same way?" Storm asked, eyebrow raised, still shouting at her father from the driveway while he stood on the porch. At her father's chagrined look she knew she had her answer. He was still embellishing the tale to make himself look better and the only way she was getting the real answer was to go and ask her mother for it. "I thought not. I'll see you when I see you. Remember what I said about Matty. And don't say anything to Matty about where I went. It I want him to know about our mother I'll tell him when I get home." Storm got into her car and slammed the door, tearing off down the drive and off toward her uncertain future.

xox

Marbles touched down in Spokane while it was raining. He wasn't put off by the weather though. This was his shot, his one opportunity. Once Benny and Teddy saw that he could be valuable to them he'd have it made. He knew they paid well when people did services for them. He got out of his plane and walked up to an idling black limo. An older man with white hair got out of the back unaided with a bowling style bag in his hand.

The man wouldn't let go of the bag until he'd delivered his message. "Benny Chains said to tell ya, don't fuck this up."

"I know, only stop for fuel. Don't worry, I'll keep her on the barber pole the whole way back."

Marbles took the bag and got into his plane. He took off without incident and headed up into the sky. The cloud cover broke up over Idaho and the sky showed its beautiful vista to Johnny. _Now this is why I fly_, he thought with a smile. When it was just him, his plane, and a clear sky Johnny felt like he owned the world. _Now if I was just going home to a good job and a good woman life would be pretty perfect_. He crossed over Idaho into Montana and realized his fuel stop had to be soon, but not immediate.

He finished his last swig of Coca-Cola, grimacing at its warm texture and flat taste while tossing the can onto the floor. He felt another one of the all too familiar cravings gnawing at him. He'd told his cousin Matty he'd been off blow for 7 months and he had only been mildly exaggerating. He still occasionally snorted with Chris, but where he had been an addict he was back to recreation. But his nerves were preying on him and he felt the need for a hit to steady him. "Come on, stay alert." He coached himself.

He flew another few minutes and the craving got to be too much to bear. In a half hour he was going to have to land in some small Montana town with a bag full of something that Benny Chains only trusted his son to pick up for him. That was a huge amount of responsibility. He was in over his head, he realized in that moment. He was Johnny Marbles; he fucked everything up. What had he been thinking to think he could do this job? "Well, just one." He told himself as he took the little cardboard envelope out of his pocket and took a hit right out of the packaging. The plane dipped a bit as he coughed but he levelled her out just fine. Then he banked left and enjoyed the clear sky.

He landed in a small town known as Wibaux and hollered at the attendant for 54 gallons to top off the plane's tank and headed for the terminal to pay. He had Benny's bag in his hand. No way was he leaving it in the plane, not when he didn't know what was in it.

On his way up to the little shack posing as the airport's main building Marbles noticed an impossibly tall man standing in the window. As the man turned into the sun's dying rays Marbles saw them glint off the star on the man's shirt. _Sheriff, ah shit. _Just what he didn't need. He took the little envelope of cocaine out of his pocket and let it blow to the wind behind him. Something about the look on that cop's face. The cop turned away from the window and Marbles knew he had to think fast. He saw the pile of luggage waiting on the next flight to be boarded and tossed his bag into the pile.

He figured he'd only be a minute while he paid and then he'd grab the bag on his way back to the plane. He wasn't thinking clearly; a direct result of the blow he'd snorted. Had he be in his right mind he'd have realized several other plans made more sense. Take the bag back to the plane and say he forgot his money. Take the bag with him knowing the cops couldn't search it without a good reason. But none of this occurred to Marbles in that second. All that did was he was high, carrying some unknown illegal substance, and that cop looked right though him with each glare.

He pushed into the terminal bagless and walked up to the lady at the desk. He rudely interrupted her conversation with the Sheriff, wanting to get back to his bag as soon as possible. "Fifty four gallons of hundred octane low lead please."

"That'll be one sixteen ten sir."

"You can just keep the difference." Marbles said after pulling out a roll of hundreds and peeling two off.

"Don't be ridiculous sir." The homely woman at the counter replied with a smile. "Let me get out my strongbox here."

"No really, it's gonna take too long." Marbles looked around nervously.

"Why are you in such a rush?" The tall, very intimidating Sheriff asked with a frown. He scared the hell out of Marbles.

"I got a…a schedule." Johnny stammered out as he looked out the window and saw the bags were all on the plane.

"I have your change." The woman finally said.

"No really it's ok." Marbles said as he headed for the door.

"Take your change son." The Sheriff interjected in a no arguments tone. Marbles turned around with an internal moan and waited for the woman to count his change back to him.

"Don't see too many hundreds around here." She said with an apologetic smile, sorry for the trouble she was causing him by delaying him while she made out the eighty odd dollars change.

Marbles finally pocketed his change and ran out of the little building, only to see the plane whose luggage he'd stashed his bag with in the sky, flying away. He jogged up to the attendant on the tarmac. "Where's that plane going?"

"Last flight of the day, only place they go is Billings." The man went back to his work and Marbles looked around, unsure what to do. He realized he'd have to beat the plane to Billings so he hopped in his Cessna and that is what he did. Even though he watched every piece of baggage come off the conveyer belt and watched every passenger who disembarked he did not see the little brown and tan bag he so desperately wanted to see. He flew back to Wibaux. No doubt about it, he was going to have to call Matty. He walked over to the pay phone and started dialling. Matty answered on the other end.

"I swear to Christ Matty, I swear to fucken' Christ!"

"What did you do?"

"I swear to Christ I didn't turn my back for a second."

"What are you sayin' to me, huh?"

"I stopped to get fuel. Now I didn't leave the bag in the plane I tell ya that much, but these cops…"

"Cops? What cops?"

"They looked right through me and it was like they knew every single thing I'd ever been guilty of. I couldn't double back to the plane, it woulda been too obvious. I had to make a decision, walk right into them, expose your father, or stash the bag."

"Listen to me! Who the fuck has the money Marbles?"

"Matty, I have no idea."

"Alright where the hell are you?"

"Wibaux Montana."

"Ok W-e-e-b-o…"

"No W-i-b-a-u-x."

"X?"

"Yeah x, what do you want me to do now?"

"Don't do anything, we're coming out."

Matty hung up and Marbles sat looking at the phone for a second before he hung up too. He'd really messed up this time.

xox

Storm first stopped for gas at her local Texaco. Then she left New York and drove into New Jersey on the New Jersey Turnpike. Jersey was familiar too. It was like New York without the hard ass attitude but with all of the smart ass and an even worse accent. She'd had friends in school that bussed in every day from 'Jersey. 'Jersey was close enough to home that if she'd been able to stop there it would have been ok. But she didn't stop there and it didn't take her long to blow through it.

Then she pretty much flew through Maryland. She stopped briefly on the outskirts of Baltimore to buy a Pepsi and use the rest room. Then it was back in the car and off toward Washington, DC. She would have driven right past it but she needed gas so she paused long enough to dump a tank of super into her Skyline.

She was very well aware she was running on autopilot. She only knew she had to escape from her life, from her father and getting the real story from her mother seemed like the best thing she could do. It was also an excuse to leave New York. It was something she knew she wouldn't do on her own without a good reason.

The pump turned itself off and she removed the nozzle from the tank. She went in to pay for her fuel, missing all the looks she got along the way. It was a stand out car and she was a striking woman. She was in her own world and none of it mattered. She got to the head of the line and set down her litre bottle of Pepsi and package of white chocolate Reese Peanut Butter Cups.

"That everything?" The teenage clerk asked her as he stumbled over his own words.

"No, I had twelve gallons of super on pump 10 too."

The clerk rang in her order and told her the total. She handed over her Visa card with a sardonic smile. The bills for her plastic went right to her old man. Why not let her father pay for her little trip south? It was his fault she was going. As they waited for the transaction to process the clerk finally got up his nerve.

"What kind of car is that?"

"It's a Nissan Skyline."

"Never heard of it." The kid replied.

"I don't suspect you would have. It's from Japan." Storm leaned in closer to the kid over the counter. "It's illegal." She whispered with her eyes wide and a conspiratory tone to her voice.

"Wow, really?"

"Um hum." Storm batted her eyelashes at the kid, having some fun with him. She knew she could play up her blonde looks when she felt like it. Sometimes she wished her hair was still the natural dark mahogany colour because it had definitely set off her light green eyes better then the blond did but the blonde made people think certain ways about her, under estimate her.

"How'd you get it here then?" The boy asked and it was clear that Storm had his total attention.

"I brought it in through Canada and faked the papers."

"My mother works at the DMV, I think they'd catch that kind of thing."

"Oh, but I'm not from here. I'm from New York City." Storm answered as the printer started spitting out the slip for her to sign. The clerk handed it over with a pen and Storm took both from him, signing A. Storm Demaret with a flourish in her flowing script. She handed them back to the clerk and started for the door.

"Hey, are you…!" The kid trailed off in shock.

Storm turned back to him with a grin. She didn't answer, simply winked and gave the teenage kid a jaunty wave. She climbed into her car and squealed off. She actually felt good to be recognized for who she was this time. It had gone a small way toward lifting her out of her funk. She wasn't a nobody after all. There were people who knew who she was. She knew that would change, that the farther she got from home the more of a nobody she'd become but in that moment it didn't matter.

She drove farther away from home, merging onto the I-95. It was almost a thousand miles she'd be on the I-95 and she zoned out. It was when she realized she was almost asleep at the wheel and it was 12 am she decided to stop for the night. It was only a few more miles to Richmond Virginia so she decided to just push on until then and stop for the night in Richmond. She made it without incident and checked into The Jefferson. Since her dad was paying she figured she'd go all out. He could afford it and it wasn't like she was hiding from him so she didn't have to worry him tracking her with the card.

She got a few strange looks from the desk staff. She didn't know if it was the late hour, the rumpled state of her clothes, which weren't up to the standards of the average guest of the establishment anyway, or her name on the card slip and she didn't care. She just wanted a soft, clean bed for the night. After a few moments of doing paperwork she found herself in a very nice room. She didn't waste any time but climbed right into the bed and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

xox

Matty tried but he couldn't get a plane to take him to meet Johnny right away. The best he could do was the next morning at 10 am. He booked three seats, hoping that Taylor and Chris would be able to go with him. He had to stop himself from booking four. It hit him hard to realize Storm wasn't there to go with him. With her at his side, he knew he could handle it but he was flying solo on this one. He didn't even know how to find his sister and he wouldn't bother her with this. It was his fuckup and she didn't even know he was into it.

He called Taylor the second he hung up with the airline.

"Yeah." Taylor answered his phone in his typical gruff fashion in his typical gruff voice.

"Taylor." Matty sighed dejectedly, unsure where to start.

"What is it Matty?" Taylor's normally unshakable voice took on trace amounts of unease. "Is it Storm?"

"No, she took off for where ever she decided to go already but as far as I know she's fine. I have an issue Taylor."

"What is it Matty?"

"I took a job for Teddy and my old man. Just a small job, move a package from Washington State to here. I made the mistake of getting Johnny to fly out after it. He lost it Taylor. It's got half a million in it and he lost it."

"Jesus."

"Yeah. Remember that issue I told you about that has my dad in such a fucken pissy mood?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the issue is someone stealing from him. The money was a loan to float him until he figures out who it is and gets caught up. Now Marbles lost the money in some fuckwad town in Montana. I need to go out there and straighten this out Taylor and I'm hoping you'll come with me."

"Of course Matty."

"Good I got us booked on a flight tomorrow at ten. I'm gonna call Chris and get him too if I can. God I wish Storm was here."

"It's no big deal Matty. We'll straighten it out. Don't worry. You gonna call Scarpa?"

"Yeah, I'll call him. Thanks Taylor."

"Um." Taylor grunted, nothing else to say.

"If you talk to my sister before I do, would you tell her to take care of herself, and don't mention this to her? Ok?"

"Sure, but I won't hear from her."

"Ok, I'll pick you up tomorrow around 9 ok?"

"Yeah, fine. See you then." Taylor hung up and so did Matty.

He got his cousin on board and went to bed. He didn't do too much sleeping, worried as he was about his sister, his father's money, and how he was going to get it back.

xox

Marbles, not knowing what Matty was going to do or when he was going to show up ended up sleeping in his plane, curled up in the back like a small child.

Taylor, back in New York, went to bed and didn't find much rest himself. He was mostly worried about the mess that Marbles had gotten himself, and by proxy Matty and the rest of the guys into. But thoughts of Storm did enter his head. Where was she? Was she smart enough to get off the road and sleep the night someplace? Or was she, in typical bull headed Storm fashion trying to plow through the twenty straight hours of driving this trip would require of her? Thankfully Matty had no idea where she was going or he'd hit the roof.

And what had Matty been thinking of getting himself into this situation. It was a fucken mess and that was all Taylor knew. On that note he drifted off.

Elsewhere in New York Matty Demaret fell into a troubled sleep, arm rapped around a pillow and a frown on his face.

Benny Demaret sat up in an armchair set in the bay window in his room. He had too much on his mind to sleep. Where was his daughter? What was happening to his money? Did he make a huge mistake trusting the job of getting the cash to New York to Matty?

Storm was the only one who slept well, surprisingly. She died when her head hit her pillow and slept like a baby. But her dreams were full of scenarios she envisioned for when she reached Miami. Since she never remembered her dreams it wouldn't matter by sunrise anyway. At least, if it did, she'd never know


	12. I, The Candid Castaway

**AN: A cyber cookie to anyone who can tell me what song the title of this chapter is from and who sang it. It is one of my new favourite songs, but most of you are likely more familiar with another song by the same female artist. I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Life has been crazy. But I am now officially the third most skilled post secondary and/or apprentice for Automotive Technology in my province. Or at least third most skilled out of everyone who competed. I hope to have more time to update everything with my March break swiftly approaching. And more time to be online. I'm missin my cheerleader/guinea pig. I have to admit this has not been Cheer approved so I'm sorry if it sucks monkey ba…bananas giggles I normally give them to Cheer to read over first but she's been sick and I've been busy so we haven't been meeting up. Thus this is unbeta'ed. Please review if you read and please point out anything wrong with the story. I will be making notes and fixing issues in the final draft, which I will begin to write when this one is finished. When it's done it will be archived on my website, which is still in the coming soon stage at this point. I do own the domain name already, but don't go there yet because all you'll get is advertising until I get my act together and buy a webhosting plan someplace. Say, anyone know of any good cheap or free hosting sites? Just a bit of background on the movie, to help some things in this chapter make sense. Matty tells Taylor at one point that he was due to go hunting with his dad on November 14th, 1986 but they arrested his dad that night so they never got to go. It also tells you at the start of the movie that the date they take Matty to kill Bobby Boulevard is late November, 1987. Thus Matty, (Or in my story Matty and Storm) have been living with their uncle for a year. Matty is twelve when they try to make him kill Bobby and it's about twelve years later in the movie, making Matty about 24 during movie events. I'm assuming Taylor is about Matty's age or perhaps just a bit older. I know I need to fix up the ages of them from the first chapter and I'll get to it someday. So in short Storm is 20 in the movie, she was 7 when her dad went in and 8 when her uncle tried to make her brother kill their friend. Hope that clears up any confusion.**

**Velocity Shift**

By _TempestRaces_

Chapter 11 – **I,** **the** **Candid Castaway**

"_Why're you cryin Matty?" Eight year old Storm asked her twelve year old big brother as he sobbed his way into her room in the dark, obviously trying to be quiet and not quite managing it._

"_They shot him! They tried to make me shoot 'im and when I wouldn't they did it!"_

"_Shot who Matty? Who shot who?" Storm got out of her bed in a tangled flurry of sheets, her new pink nightgown stopping just above her knees, revealing that they were still slightly dimpled by baby fat she was slowly growing out of, and crossed the room quickly to her brother's side. Her legs were growing longer faster then she could adapt to and it made her gangly and apt to trip over her own feet._

"_Teddy and Clueless shot Bobby." Storm watched as Matty sobbed. "He tried to make me shoot him and when I wouldn't do it he told me he'd just move him outta town but then he shot him anyway."_

"_Teddy killed Bobby Boulevard?" Storm asked incredulously. Bobby Boulevard was like a second uncle to them, a man they could count on almost more then their blood uncle and even their own father. Storm watched as Matty only nodded as he tried to get his tears under control. Matty hated to cry because men didn't cry. He was always telling her he had to be a man. Their father always told him that he had to be a man for his little sister; that he was too old to act like a kid. If Matty was crying then Storm knew whatever had caused it was very serious. "Why?"_

"_Teddy says Bobby's the reason pop went away."_

"_He thinks Bobby ratted on pop! Bobby ain't no rat!"_

"_That's what I told him but he said it's always who you wish it wasn't and then gave me a gun." Matty crushed her to his narrow chest as he cried into her long, curly hair. _

"_Shush Matty." She whispered in a voice made slightly lisping by the fact she was missing both her front teeth, her adult teeth just starting to appear. She hated how she looked without them. "What did you do?"_

"_I just told Teddy I couldn't do it. He told me they'd just rough him up a little. Then he made me leave the room. Bobby didn't rat out pop. I know he didn't!"_

_Storm wrapped her arms around her brother's waist as he cried, weeping for an innocence he was too young to know he'd lost, but quite old enough to know he'd never get back. _

"_I just wanna go home." Matty gasped out around his broken crying._

"_Me too. I want everything back the way it was. I want pop." She sniffled, on the verge of tears herself. She didn't really comprehend the enormity of what had happened. She wasn't really old enough to understand the finality of death. Matty fully understood what dead meant and how it meant they'd never see Bobby again. All she knew was that her uncle Bobby was gone away just like her pop and that meant she wouldn't see him again for a long time. _

_She'd looked up as Matty closed his eyes but opened them again quickly, seeing in his minds eye Bobby Boulevard with blood running down his chin. "Oh god."_

"_What Matty?"_

"_They cut his tongue out. He was tellin me that he didn't rat on no body and they cut his tongue out so he couldn't talk to me no more." Matty said as he gagged. He realized after saying it he shouldn't have told his little sister. She saw the fact he was worried about what he was telling her written all over his tear stained face. She used one chubby hand to wipe off his cheek._

"_Don't cry Matty. You tried to help. Don't cry." She tried to comfort her brother as best she could._

"_You should go back to bed." Matty tried to push her back toward her frilly pink bed. She hated it. It was pretty and girlie and everything she wasn't. Just like her room in her uncle's house. She hated it all. She hated how they cooked, when they ate, when they went to bed and how they made her play. She hated it all and most of all she hated how she never got to see her brother anymore since they'd been living with Teddy. It had been just over a year. Their father had been arrested in the early morning hours of Valentine's day 1986. It was now November 26th, one year later. _

"_How long 'til my pop comes to get me?" Storm asked Matty as he pulled the ruffled comforter up around her slim shoulders after he'd managed to get her back into her bed._

"_Depends on if he gets good behaviour or not." Matty answered her question, trying to sound grown up. _

_Storm giggled, thinking of her father needing to be good. "If what everyone says it right he's in trouble then cause everyone says I'm just like him and I'm always in trouble for not behaving good."_

_Matty chuckled at her, and then made a slight hiccupping sound as he finally totally stopped crying. "Yeah, he's in deep trouble if he needs to depend on being good. Just like you." _

"_I love you Matty." She told her brother as she fought not to fall back to sleep so quickly, but her warm bed and the fact it was the middle of the night was making her eyelids very hard to keep open._

"_I love you too Storm. Go to sleep."_

_With one last coherent moment she realized her brother wasn't likely to ask to stay with her but likely wanted to anyway. Even when she didn't know why he was scared she often knew with some sort of sibling bond no one understood that he was. She didn't need to know why. "Matty?"_

"_Yeah?" He turned to face her from half way across her room._

"_I'm scared cause'a what you told me. Will you stay with me until I'm asleep?"_

"_Yeah. Sure." Relief was written all over his face. He was too old to ask his little sister if he could stay with her, but not too old to stay for her if she asked him to._

_He told her the next day that she'd woken him up in the middle of the night, crying for her father once and Bobby the second time. She had no memory of it the next day. She did remember Matty crying himself to sleep beside her but once he'd been asleep she'd quickly followed and had no memory of what had happened after that. Just a vague image gnawing at the edge of her conscious mind of a man with rivulets of blood running down his chin as his eyes pleaded for mercy he knew he'd never receive. _

xox

Storm woke up with a muffled scream in her rented bed, terror jerking her straight up. Always the same dream, an image of her 'uncle' with blood running down his face and the entry wound of a .38 slug between his eyes. She'd never seen it first hand but the image her brother had painted for her had been enough for her eight year old mind to paint the picture and the image of it had stayed with her from that dark night onward.

She lay panting for a moment and then rolled over. With in seconds she was back asleep. She'd never remember by morning. She never did.

xox

Storm woke up the next morning in her delightfully soft rented bed and stretched with a huge grin. The grin left her face when she remembered that she wasn't in her own bed, or her own house, or even her own state, and that her brother and Taylor were no where close to her. With a groan she looked at the red numbers of the bedside clock. It was nine am. Time she was on her way. Nagging flashes of something sinister clawed at her conscious, begging for acknowledgement but she pushed them down like she always did and sighed.

She got up and got dressed. She knew that she was going to meet her mother for the first time ever by the end of today so she took some time picking out her clothes. She didn't want her mother to know she was a total tom boy but she didn't really own any clothes that would totally hide the fact. She ended up settling on a pair of designer jeans instead of her usual no name, torn, ripped, and stained variety and one of her 'good' wife beaters. That meant a black one with no holes, stains or tears. She added a wide pink belt and figured she'd do.

She padded into the bathroom and stood in front of the vanity. She splashed her face with cold water and looked at herself. She wasn't sure she knew the woman staring back at her. It was like looking at a stranger. She still had the same dark, winged brows, same apple jade green eyes. Same mid back length, obviously bleached blonde incredibly curly hair and skin that always looked just a bit tanned, no matter how long New York winters were. She knew she still looked the exact same, but she didn't feel like she was looking at herself in the mirror anymore. It was time to finish her trip, meet her mother, and hopefully redefine who she was. She wanted to know herself again. She didn't want to live the rest of her life waking up to seeing a stranger in the mirror every time she brushed her teeth.

That decided she scrubbed her face and teeth quickly and scanned the room for any forgotten belongings. She found nothing out of place, nothing at all to tell anyone that someone had used the room at all, that a _person_ with thoughts and feelings had lived here for the night. Only the slightly mussed bed gave it away, but that was certainly nothing to tell anyone anything about the girl who'd stayed.

A few minutes later, thanks to the fact she'd checked in with her platinum Visa, she was out in her car and underway. As she headed down toward Florida she tried to put her mind on autopilot and didn't have a lot of success. She couldn't keep the coming meeting off her mind, or the events which had precipitated it.

What was her mother like? Her father had told her they looked alike enough to be sisters. What about personality? Was her mother sweet and kind like her father had said? Storm wondered if she'd have the chance to find out. She knew there was every chance that her mother wouldn't want a thing to do with her. She'd be a constant reminder of what had been torn from her at the hands of Benny. All Storm could do was hope her mother would decide to at least tell her the full story behind what had gone down one stormy night in New York. That she wouldn't hold the sins of the father against the child.

That was the rub though, wasn't it? Storm thought as she drove. She'd committed so many of the same sins. Why didn't she deserve to be painted with the same brush as her father?

xox

Matty, Chris and Taylor all boarded a plane at nine thirty in the morning and got seats. They were sitting together across the whole right side of an isle. Chris had the window seat, Matty was in the middle and Taylor had the isle.

"What were you thinkin' askin' Marbles to do something so important?" Taylor asked Matty irritably. He was mad that Marbles had messed up so badly, he was mad that he was going into such a bad situation should the money not turn up, and he was mad to be out of his bed at such an early hour. He was worried about Matty, especially should the money be found, and he was worried about Storm, who was off on her own God only knew where. Of course he had a vague idea where, but he wasn't allowed to let on to Matty that he did. He was not having a good few days and he knew it wasn't fair of him to take it out on Matty. But when Taylor was in a pissy mood he tended to make sure those around him joined him there.

"I took him at his word that he turned it around. I bet he was high when he messed up, the little lying fuck." Matty growled. He had too much going on to deal with Marbles and his inability to stay off the blow.

"Maybe to him it really did seem like the right thing to do." Chris tried to stick up for his cousin, but Marbles' continued need to screw up like no one else could manage made him a hard case to defend.

"Only to Marbles would it seem like a good idea to drop a bag," Taylor lowered his voice so he was audible only to the two other men in his row, "with a half million in cash in it into a pile of Joe Commuter's luggage while he went into a building with the local sheriff inside."

"I guess pop was right when he said Marbles is half an idiot and that's the good half." Matty sighed. "I wish Storm wasn't off taking some secret trip. I'd feel better if she was here."

"What for? She's got no business dealing with this kinda thing." Taylor snapped. His bad humour was making him shorter with Matty then he normally would have been. He normally wouldn't get into it with his friend over Storm. Taylor knew Matty had a skewed view of his sister and how good she was at certain things. "If you wouldn't encourage her then maybe she'd settle down and act like a woman for once instead of some wild ass crazy kid working selling," Taylor caught himself before he gave Storm away to her brother, "stuff for the Russian mob."

"Please Taylor, spare me your shit for once please." Matty snapped, finally reaching his breaking point. "You know Storm's good at planning shit. Even pop knows that."

"Maybe but I'm just as happy she's someplace safe and not involved. First sign of trouble and her hot temper'd have us in hot water we might never get out of."

"I guess." Matty said, leaning his head back into the seat with his eyes closed.

"Hey cuz, we'll have this all sorted out by nine tonight. How hard can it be in a town called Wibaux?" Chris tried to cheer his cousin up. "Marbles is a fuck up but at least he fucked up in an area even god forgot about. Where could the money go? I mean what could anyone be spending it on in a town in the middle of bumble-fuck Montana?"

xox

Two kids on street luges went flying down a hill. Each had on custom leathers and helmets to match the racing apparatus they were each riding. At a corner in the road they went flying off, into the grass on the shoulder.

Getting off their luges unsteadily they hugged in sheer happiness before going off to smoke a joint together. Happiness was as easily found as a steep hill and a visit to the local weed spot to the two friends whom no one had let in on the fact that high school was long since over.

Feeling pleasantly mellow they went to the driveway of the house they shared to install the new sound system they'd also received via overnight freight just that morning into the bed of their pickup truck. The internet was a wonderful thing and COD was only slightly behind it in terms of things to be thankful for. Of course, at the top of their thankful list was whatever deity had seen fit to send them a bag filled with half a million dollars of sweet American currency. Yes, that was indeed one of the things they were very grateful for.

xox

The plane touched down at twelve. The three friends stepped off the plane into the harsh midday sun. They looked around and saw nothing to recommend Wibaux for an extended visit.

Chris did up the buttons of his suit coat as he looked around the area cynically from behind his deeply tinted shades. _Look at this place! _He mused. _What a fucken joke!_ He glanced at Taylor and took in the disgusted look on his large friend's face, also partially concealed behind sunglasses. He then turned to Matty and saw the wonder there. None of them had ever been to a place as totally devoid of culture as Wibaux. New York had almost more culture then it could handle. Wibaux didn't even have a snack counter in the airport. If you could call the little building squatting at the edge of the air strip an airport. It was clear that the place was doing a number on all of them, and they hadn't even set foot off the airstrip yet. Chris had a strange premonition that the situation was going to get a hell of a lot worse before it got better.

Chris widened the scope of his field of vision for the area and found his cousin. "Look at this!" He said in anger as he watched his cousin do some sort of artistic movements off to the side of the airstrip, over where his plane was hangered on the tarmac. Chris led the way over to his cousin.

When Marbles saw them coming he stood up out of his lowered stance. Not that Marbles standing up made much of a difference when it came to how his height compared to his friends. "What're you doin?" Chris' cynical look was clear, even around his deeply tinted lenses. "What're you, a fuckin ballerina now?" Chris asked with a sneer as Matty and Taylor caught up with him and stood behind him.

"No, its Tai Chi. First off I'm refining my center. And it stretches you out. I'm all cramped up from sleeping in the fuckin plane. Plus it's a deadly art." Marbles pushed his arms down to his sides and cracked his neck, trying to look dangerous.

Chris looked at his cousin in disgust as he slapped him up side his head. "You're a fuckin hard on."

"That hurt, absorbed the impact though." Marbles smart mouthed back to Chris.

"Shut up. Alright," Matty growled, at the limit of his patience with Marbles, and the cousins' antics. "I go on the line for you, I give you a shot and for what?"

"Geese Matty I told you, there were cops. Felt like a setup, what can I tell ya?" Marbles said, sounding very defensive, like he knew he did wrong but he wasn't sure he wanted to admit to it. "Look I know I fucked the dog on this one-"

Matty cut him off. "No, you didn't just fuck the dog, you fucked me."

"Matty I swear, if I have to work the rest of my life I'll pay you back."

Matty waved him off with a look. "Where was the last place you saw it?"

"Right here, you told me not to take my eyes off it and I didn't. Now I thought it went to Billings and I was wrong but I scoped every passenger, crew too and I watched every piece of baggage come off. It's gotta be here somewhere."

Matty and Taylor turned to walk away. With a fed up glance at his cousin Chris followed.

"I'm coming with right?" Marbles called as his friends all walked away, leaving him alone with his plane.

"Do what the fuck you want." Matty said, not even bothering to turn around and address his comments to his friend's face. He entered the airport terminal and walked up to the lady at the desk. His request for information didn't go over well. Marbles interrupting him didn't help him any. Both Matty and Taylor shot him a look telling him to shut his mouth before Matty turned back to the clerk. "Do you know who I could rent a car from?" Matty asked the woman whose nametag proclaimed her to be Louise.

"You're talking to her." She said with a smile.

The four men rented a Jeep and moved on toward the town centre. They didn't know how long they were going to have to stay put in Wibaux but they knew one thing for sure. They had to find that money.

xox

When Storm came up for air from her thoughts, she realized she was about to miss her exit for Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. She had to exit toward Rocky Mountain and then merge onto I-95. And then she had 900 miles of driving down that one freeway straight through until Miami. She checked quickly for other traffic and shot the ramp at double the allowed speed. She thanked the fates for the fact she'd taken the Skyline, despite the seats that made in uncomfortable for long road trips, and not the Cadillac. The Cadillac never would have been able to execute the sharp turn nor hold the off ramp at such high speeds. The tires of the Skyline squealed around the corner, smoking as the car protested the sharp corner but still executed it like the race bred champ it was.

A few minutes later and she was on a straight away to Miami. It was early in the day still and she knew she'd spend the next several hours driving. She cranked up the stereo to keep her mind on the road and off the coming meeting.

She couldn't help but think of what her mother might think of her. Would she be a huge disappointment? By all accounts her mother had been the epitome of a lady. Would she be upset to find her daughter had been raised nothing but? She had no one to blame for it though, knowing her daughter was being raised by her rough father. But it didn't make it any better when she thought that her own mother might find her lacking.

Or what if her mother wished she'd never come? That rejection would hurt about more then anything else ever had. If her own mother didn't want her, what else could possibly come along and hurt more? It made Storm wish that Devon hadn't talked her into seeing the Britney Spear's movie '_Crossroads_'. Not only had it been a horrible movie as far as Storm was concerned, full of bad acting and overdone story lines, but now it might parallel her own life. All Storm could think was her mother might have moved on. She might have a perfect family of her own now with another man and other kids and she might not want a child from her previous marriage coming along and messing up her new life for her. She might send Storm away, just like the mother in the movie had sent her daughter away.

She went to take a drink of her Pepsi and realized the bottle was empty. "Damn it." She muttered as she threw the empty into the back, realizing now she'd have to stop. It was time for a fill up anyway. She took the next exit advertising a service station and pulled up to self serve again. It was getting warmer and warmer the farther south she got. She pulled her jacket off and tossed it into the car before sticking the nozzle into her filler neck. She filled the tank and headed in to replenish her caffeine supply and pay for her gas.

Her name on her credit card didn't raise any eyebrows in the south like it had back home. She was underway without a fuss and back on the highway minutes later. She was hoping she wouldn't need any more gas before she reached her destination. Agitatedly Storm pushed her sunglasses farther up her nose and sighed as the wind in the open window tossed her hair around. She wished she felt as carefree as her hair looked. She just wanted the confrontation with her mother over with so she wouldn't have to worry about it any farther. Then if her mother didn't want her she'd just leave and go home. Since it was only Thursday, she'd be home in New York by Saturday night and back to work, ready to put the whole thing behind her and look for a place to live that didn't involve living with her old man.

Storm rolled the windows down as she accelerated down the freeway. She shifted into fifth and leaned her head on her hand, her elbow propped up on the window ledge as she steered with one hand and sighed. Only a few hundred miles to go.

Xox

"Look at this place. Guys like us could be runnin it in a week." Chris said as they drove through downtown Wibaux.

"First thing you do in an open town is control cart-out. I'd put my name on every garbage truck running through here." Marbles replied.

The four men found a diner and went in to talk strategy and try to decide what they were going to do about finding their money. Matty parked the Jeep and they all got out.

Taylor picked up on the looks they got from everyone they passed. They stood out from the local crowd. It could either work for them or against them but Taylor didn't have an especially good feeling about it. He knew they stood out. It wasn't just Chris's New York way of attiring himself or Matty's big town way of moving. It was their whole attitude, their whole demeanour. They all slid into a booth. Chris and Taylor lit cigarettes and Taylor took a moment to be thankful that at least here, in bumble-fuck Montana, a man could still have a cigarette with his coffee. Even if he chose to have his coffee inside a public restaurant.

"Listen, someone's got that money. Now my uncle would say we need to announce ourselves to them. Make them want to find us. Make them beg us to take that money back they're so scared as long as we leave them the fuck alone."

"Ok, how are we going to do that?" Chris asked Matty as they all sat around in their booth, half drank coffee's and the remains of Marbles' lunch on the table. Taylor took a drag off his cigarette and looked around, deep in thought. His gaze roved out the window and lingered on something he saw across the street.

Matty sighed, looking at the table. How did he manage to get himself into these situations? When would he ever learn? He wasn't cut out for this life. Now he'd tried to get in again and look how well it was going. If he'd just listen to everyone around him and let it go stuff like the current mess wouldn't occur. He wished for the hundredth time his sister was with him. Not because he needed her help, though he wouldn't have turned it down, but because he hated worrying about her on top of everything else.

"Like this." Taylor said as he met the eyes of first Marbles and then Scarpa, taking his eyes off whatever had held his interest outside. Matty leaned back in the booth, slinging his arm over the back as he turned toward Taylor. "We find the toughest guy here, I mean the worst guy they got. The guy all the other guys cross the street to avoid. Then we glaze this tough guy; give him the beating of his life. Way past the worst he's ever given."

Matty didn't look thrilled with the plan, but he nodded anyway. He hated the thoughts of being violent against some nameless man just because he was tough. To Matty, that was like the many guys who tried to fight with Taylor just because they saw Taylor as some obstacle in their way of being the toughest guy they knew.

The four of them were essentially looking to do the same thing to some other tough guy. They were going to beat him up just so all the people who were scared to mess with him would in turn be scared to mess with them. It wasn't pretty, and Matty didn't like it, but as usual when it came to the family, Taylor knew better then he did.

Matty and Taylor both looked up as the sheriff's car drove by and the two men inside looked up and into the window of the diner. Matty felt a chill creep down his spine. When that tall, lanky sheriff looked at him, it was just like the man knew every sin he'd ever committed. It was very unnerving.

"After we beat their worst guy we tell him that to get his control back all he has to do is find out who has our bag." Taylor finished outlining his plan.

"Where are we gonna find this tough guy?" Marbles asked.

"Where ever we find trouble in this town." Taylor's voice came out in his usual deep growl.

"I got this." Chris said as he stood up, buttoning his suit coat. He walked up to the cashier.

"How you doin?" He asked with a smile.

"Fine." The blond cashier didn't even look up at him as she answered. She remanded focused on her till.

"Listen, I need some information and I want you to take this." Chris held out a hundred dollar bill, folded in quarters.

"I can't break that! Your tab only came to 14.30." The slim blond finally looked up into the dark face of the man in front of her. She couldn't help thinking how handsome he was. He had a face made for breaking hearts, she mused as he smiled at her.

"Look, dear, what's your name?" The killer smile Chris was giving the little woman upped a few hundred watts.

"Bernadette." She answered his question and ducked her head, blushing more then she could remember since she'd been in high school. Something about his olive face and lively brown eyes made her just want to forget her whole life and run away with him.

"Bernadette, why don't you just tell me where I could find a little trouble in this town?" Chris asked, one corner of his mouth lifting in a sly smile, the whole expression on his face daring her to find a way to say no to him, laughter dancing in his dark brown eyes.

"Use to be you would have already found it." Bernadette told him as she showed him her wedding band, almost as if to remind herself as much as to tell him she wasn't available to get him into the trouble he sought. "But since I'm taken you could always try the Shamrock tonight." She smiled shyly and Chris smiled back playfully as he nodded, leaving the hundred on the counter as he walked away. He relayed the name of the bar to his friends and they walked out of the diner, feeling the eyes of every last person in the joint boring into their backs as they walked out the doors.

xox

It was about two in the afternoon when Storm pulled up to a pretty white house set well back from the road in a nice neighbourhood in suburban Miami. She parked her car at the curb and looked at the house, wondering what she should do. Should she pull up to the door or walk from the curb? It didn't really make sense to walk all the way up to the house when the big driveway only had one vehicle in it, a nearly new Land Rover SUV. She pulled the Skyline into the driveway and checked the number on her slip of paper against the number on the house. It was the right place, and if the car in the drive was any indication someone was home.

She got out of her car with a frown and walked up the path to the front door with a confidence she didn't feel. She raised her hand to knock and then paused. She almost walked back to the driveway and got back in her car. She didn't want to know. Really. She tried to convince herself she'd rather not know then know and find out the answer was her mother was just as happy without any ties to her old life.

Suddenly an image of her Uncle Teddy popped into her head. She might not like her aunt much, but her uncle wasn't so bad. Well, not so bad by times. Mostly when they were alone together with no one else around to see him teaching, oh sin of sins _a girl_, things they didn't think she should know. Her dad had taught her to shoot, to care for her gun. Her uncle had taught her how to never miss what she aimed at and select the correct ammunition for the job. Her uncle had helped her perfect her craft, even as he protested about her actions. He was just as bad as her father for saying one thing and doing another where she was concerned and she knew very well what he'd say to her if he could see her now.

"_Now's the time for stomach Storm. Do you want to know what she has to say? You need to decide and go after it, no time for hesitating. Either you want to know and you go get what you want, or you don't and you turn around and go home. None of this fucken 'a woman can change her mind, it's our prerogative crap either." _

When it all came down to it she did want to know. Like Lucy, if her mother told her to go away she'd find a way to cope. She'd go home and let Taylor hold her against that broad chest and feed her ice cream and take care of her hurts. It would only be fitting someone else got to be strong for awhile and lord knows Taylor had the shoulders to bear the burden for her. Before she could change her mind she raised her hand and knocked on the door firmly.

Her knock echoed through the interior of the house but no one came to open the door. Storm waited another few minutes and turned to go back to her car. No one was home, she figured. As she was about to step down off the front porch the door was opened.

"Sorry I was in the back." A woman's voice said from behind her. She turned around. It was like finding someone had placed a mirror in the open door. Sure her mother had dark mahogany coloured hair, just like Storm knew she would herself had she not dyed it blond, and the face on the reflection had a few laugh lines at the corner of the eyes, but the likeness was still uncanny. "Oh my god." The woman at the door sighed out as she looked at the young woman on her step.

"Hey. Sorry to bother you without calling but…um…" Storm didn't know how to tell her own mother she was her daughter. Were there words to tell someone you were the child they were separated from just over twenty years ago? "Well, I'm-"

"Arabella." Cara Miles breathed out, unable to believe the woman on her step could possibly be the child she'd hadn't seen since she was a squealing red infant. She couldn't deny it. Genetics certainly gave it away if nothing else did.

"Well, it's Storm actually, but yeah, close enough." Storm said, still not sure if her mother was happy to see her or not.

"He called you Storm?" Cara asked. She really hadn't figured that her daughter would ever hear her middle name, that it would be changed before she got old enough to know what it was.

"Not exactly." Storm fidgeted on the step, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"I'm so sorry." Cara wiped at her eyes, trying not to cry. _Her daughter_. How many times had she caught herself day dreaming of the day she might get to meet the little girl who was always Arabella in her mind? And how many times had she admonished herself to stop with the silly daydreams that had no chance of ever happening because she told herself she knew Benny better then to think he'd ever take back his decree that she would never see either of her children again. "Come in. You must have some things you want to talk about." Cara moved out of the door and allowed Storm to pass her into the house. "Just go sit down in there." Cara pointed through a doorway into a living room done in white with red walls. "Can I get you anything?"

Storm couldn't help the chuckle that came out when she saw the living room. It was just like her room.

"What is it?" Cara asked.

"My room is all done in white with red walls." Storm sat on the couch and looked up at her mother.

"Well, I guess we have more in common then similar looks then." Cara smiled as she sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her daughter. "So, how did you come to be called Storm? I got the impression that Benny hated it when I named you that."

"Oh he did. He planned on calling me Arabella from day one. Then he brought me home from the hospital and as the story goes he couldn't make me stop crying. Then he let Teddy try and even Theresa but none of them could do a thing with me. Theresa even made me cry louder. She's still only making me angrier to this day. But anyway they had Matty sit down and let him hold me and the second I was in his arms I stopped crying. Matty asked what my name was and pop told him Arabella. Matty hated it and asked what my other name was and when they told him Stormianna he told them that _his_ sister's name was Storm. Teddy agreed with him and pop gave up."

"Where is your brother? I always imagined that if I ever saw you I'd see you both show up here. I didn't imagine your father would ever let you find out about me, let alone meet me."

"Well, pop didn't have a lot of choice. He kept a file on you in his office and well…" Storm trailed off and when she thought of all the stuff she'd gone through in the last few days she started to cry. She didn't know what was making her so prone to the waterworks lately but she did know she hated it. She sniffled and tried to carry on. "Well, I was mad at him and I decided to try and get back at him by going through his stuff and I found the file."

Cara looked at her daughter crying on the end of the sofa and just instinctively knew crying was not something her daughter did a lot of. She moved closer and softly hugged the crying young woman.

Storm surprised herself by throwing herself into her mother's arms and holding her tight as she sobbed. "He told me you were dead. He let me think you died having me my whole life and you were really living here all along and I coulda had a mother but he's so selfish he let me think I killed you my whole life cause you died having me." Storm sobbed out broken.

"Shush cara mia. But you found me and I'm not dead. It'll be ok. What made you mad enough to snoop around in the sacred office?" Cara knew very well that the house office was Benny's domain and woe to anyone who forgot it.

"He slapped me the night before and I was still mad about it."

Cara held her daughter away at arms length and looked at her face. She could see the outline of the mar on Storm's face. The makeup couldn't completely hide it. "Why did he hit you?" Cara asked and Storm figured she now knew where she got her growly mad voice from.

"Oh, it's a long story." Storm caught her mother's look, knowing her mother wanted to hear it long or not. "He sent me out to a function with Teddy and Theresa and I had to take a date. I always take Matty but he was out of town so I had to find someone else and Matty sent his friend Taylor to take me. Taylor's mother is Jewish and daddy and Teddy only think he's good enough to do their dirty work for them not date me so Theresa started in about how long had I been dating Taylor and then went on about how I shouldn't be dating the help and how it was time I grew up and started to use my proper name and found a nice boy to marry all while the boy I'm dating already is sitting right there. So I sorta said I was going to take her out." Storm looked up in chagrin.

"From what I remember of my brother's wife I have no doubt you were justified in getting that mad at her. I don't think your father should have held anything you said in the heat of anger against you like this."

"Oh, he knew I was serious. I have thought about killing her in the past but Matty's always smart enough to make sure I'm not armed when I'm around her. Besides, that's not why he hit me. When he yelled at me over the whole thing I told him to, well, um…It wasn't very nice of me at any rate, what I said." For some reason Storm didn't want to admit she used the 'f word' in any sense, not even in Italian instead of English, since it was clear her mother was also bilingual from her use of Italian endearments.

"You're armed at other times?" Cara asked in shock.

"Yeah, of course. Daddy says that he couldn't let a daughter of his go around unable to protect herself. He gave me my gun for my eighteenth birthday." Storm saw the look on her mother's face. "I'm sorry. I'm likely shocking you. I guess I turned out pretty much like pop. I always had a head for the business and I guess pop kinda indulged me a bit."

"I guess it's not like you can help it. I always figured that without me around your brother would end up working with his father and uncle, but I never figured on you ending up there."

"You always figured it backwards then." Storm giggled. "Matty has a degree from college in sports marketing. My brother's really smart." Storm's face showed her pride about Matty and his 'real' education.

"Where does he work?" Cara asked, heartened to hear that at least on of her children had grown up to have a normal job.

"Well, no where." Storm frowned. "He won't leave New York because I won't and he can't get a job in New York because of Dad's name. But he still doesn't work for dad."

"Why not? From what I remember of Benny he was always planning to turn the reins over to his son." Cara still had Storm leaned against her even though the crying had stopped.

Storm realized someone was hugging her, which was strange enough, but even more strange was the fact she didn't want to pull away. The only person who had been able to touch her for any length of time without making her uncomfortable had been Matty until Taylor had entered her life. Those two were the extent of the list of people she could allow to touch her, until her mother. She just felt like she belonged there with her mother's arms around her. She decided to explain to her mother what had happened to Matty. "Well, that's another long story. When Matty was eleven and I was seven pop gotten taken into prison. He was gone three years and we got sent to live with Teddy." Storm took a deep breath to calm down. What had been done to her brother still had the ability to rile her like nothing else. "With in the first two weeks of us living with Teddy, Teddy and Theresa decided that Matty and I were too close."

"What do you mean too close?"

"Ever since I was born Matty's seen it as his job to take care of me. He's always watching out for me. But there came a time in our lives that I ended up taking care of Matty too. We were almost always together. Matty didn't have a lot of friends just because of who he was and I never had a lot because I'm too independent so we spent a lot of time just the two of us. Pop didn't care. I think he just liked the fact that he didn't have to bother with us too much if we had each other. But at the time we were living with the Deserve family Theresa decided that my tomboy ways had to go. She decided to 'take me in hand and make a lady out of me'. She decided that Matty and I shouldn't spend so much time together because in her mind that was surely what had made me think it was ok for me to run around like I was a boy. So she bought me dresses and made me play with dolls."

"Every girl's nightmare!" Cara said with a smile, teasing the daughter she'd never met before, but still felt like she'd always known.

"I guess this would be a good time to tell you that while I was with my father I pretty much ran wild and did what I wanted to. Pops always thought it was cute when I was mouthy and acted like a wild thing, a male wild thing at that. He's always moaning about how unladylike I am in one breath while he shows me off to some crony of his in the next. He didn't start to give me rules until he gave me my first car and even then they weren't exactly normal rules. I saw how the like 'normal' kids lived just from having friends in school but that wasn't how the Demaret household was run."

"Your father's household was never normal, not even when I lived in it."

"No I don't figure it could have been. Teddy's house played by different rules yet again though. His daughters definitely had rules to live by and expectations of what they would and wouldn't do. When they tried to make me fit into their way of living it was like trying to stick a square into a circle. It didn't work out very well. I got even worse, ran even more out of control. I mean, I was only eight when I went there but I was already the kind of girl who played with Hot Wheels not Barbies. I also already had a smart mouth. The rebellious attitude and back talk got a lot worse before it got better. My aunt and uncle decided that the best thing to do was to keep me and Matty apart as much as possible. Neither of us took that well since we'd hardly spent any time apart in the previous eight years."

"So where is this brother of yours now? He let you come down here alone?"

"He did but I'm worried about that. It was totally out of character for him. He normally would have insisted on coming too. But he doesn't know where I am. I was worried that you wouldn't want us and I won't expose Matty to that. He's had enough hard times. If you didn't want anything to do with us I wasn't going to tell him about you. That was what I was getting to. Teddy decided to pick one of dad's men and tell Matty and the world it was him who turned Dad in. He picked Bobby Boulevard."

"But Bob was Matty's god father! He wouldn't have done anything of the sort." Cara protested hotly.

"I know that. Teddy's point wasn't to pick the guy who actually ratted out dad and sent him away, it was to pick the person out of all the people he could pick from that when he handed Matty a gun and told him to shoot the person who sent his pop away would break Matty inside. He managed. They called him Matty Dimes from then on, because when he wouldn't shoot Bobby Teddy sent him out to make a phone call and gave him a dime to do it with." Storm started to get mad all over again. "I knew, even when I was only eight that they'd done something to my brother. There was nothing I could do about it. It was right around that time that Matty met Taylor. He lived in Teddy's neighbourhood."

"This Taylor, you like him don't you?" Cara asked with a soft smile.

"I think so." Storm wrinkled her nose in thought. "He's bossy. But cute. I'll never let him know it but I like it when he tries to take care of me and not let me do stuff he doesn't think I should be doing. I've been taking that kind of care of Matty for so long it's nice to let someone else take care of me for a change."

Cara changed the subject abruptly. "Does your father know you're here?"

"Not directly. He knows I found the file and took off the next day. He's been trying to make up with me ever since he did what he did and I haven't been having it. I'm too mad to be ok with him yet."

"I just." Cara seemed to think about something deeply for a moment. "I don't want him showing up here."

"No sweat, he won't leave New York. He can't. He had to let other people take us on all our trips as kids because he can't leave the state. He gets caught crossing state lines and he's gonna attract a lot of attention. Can I ask you something?" It was Storm's turn to change the subject.

"Of course."

"Why didn't you ever come back for Matty and me?"

Cara sighed. "I wanted to."

"Then why didn't you? I know why dad says but I want to know the real story."

"How do you know he didn't tell you the real story?"

"Because when he told me his version he always looked guilty. When you know daddy and you know what to look for a sure sign that he's lying is when he looks just a little too hopeful that you believe him. When he doesn't care then he doesn't have that look like he's begging you to buy what he's selling."

"You know your father very well."

"Until two days ago he was my idol." Storm said simply and sighed. "Now I don't know what I want to do with my life or what I should do for that matter. Everything was all planned out and now all my plans are wrecked."

"You could go back to school. Surely there's something you could study."

"Yeah, like law." Storm smirked to show she was kidding. "Seriously, I pretty much sailed through high school on the minimum amount of work I could do and my daddy's name. I don't have much of a foundation to base any further education on. I always knew what I wanted to do and a fancy education wasn't gonna help me there. I learned all I needed to know from Teddy and Clueless."

"So you fully intended to follow your father into his world then?" Cara asked, a frown causing her brow to furrow. She didn't like it one bit. Even if she had only just met her daughter for the first time in twenty years she still didn't want to think of her involved in her father's business.

"If he offered me the chance tomorrow I couldn't swear to you I wouldn't take it. I just don't know what else to do with my life. It's like Matty's trying to get into the life because he doesn't see what else he can do and I'm trying to get into the life because I don't want to do anything else."

"It's a dead end for a woman Storm and I can tell you that from experience."

"It's all I know."

"You could get to know something else."

"You sound like Taylor."

"I like him more and more the more I hear about him." Storm and Cara both chuckled. "In all seriousness Storm I was nothing but a mobster's daughter then the wife of another one until your father dropped my world out from under me. I managed to find something else and you would too."

"Maybe but Pop would never allow it anyway. Matty he encourages to get an outside job, me, he'd flip out if I did."

"I never thought he'd allow you to find out about me yet here you are."

"But he didn't allow me to find out, I found out on my own by snooping and if he thought he coulda stopped me I wouldn't be here. When Dad wants to get his own way nothing much will stop him. But I guess I'm not telling you anything you don't know. But none of that answers the question of why you didn't come back for me'n Matty."

"He never would have let me leave again. If I could have gotten away with it I would have gone back and taken the two of you away with me. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't go back to the life and I was still mad at him. You know once you're in you don't get out. If I had gone back I'd have been right back into the life and I never could have left again. I couldn't live with Benny again. If I'd just taken the two of you away he wouldn't have stopped until he found us. I felt like I was suffocating and I just couldn't do it. I'd been free for too long by the time it was safe for me to go back. I couldn't deal with his bossy attitude."

"I know the feeling."

"It wasn't just that. If I could have kept my own place and led my own life I would have found a way to make New York work. But he told me I had to move back to his house, had to make it seem like we were reconciled. I…" Cara trailed off and looked at Storm. Her daughter was twenty. More then old enough to handle the whole truth. Not to mention that it was 3:30 and very soon Cara knew she was going to have to leave and she couldn't leave Storm wondering over what. "I tried Storm. When you were seven. It must have been just before your father got arrested. He sent you and Matty on a trip someplace and I moved back for a week. It didn't work. He was worse then ever. I couldn't do it."

Cara looked so guilty that Storm couldn't take it. "I understand better then anyone what it's like to live under his thumb. I don't blame you for leaving again. You didn't know me or Matty anymore and you didn't want to live the life or be married to Dad. I understand he's not the easiest guy to live with. You don't have to feel bad for leaving again. You had a new life and we'd all moved on too."

"If it was only that simple Storm." Cara sighed. "I would really rather what I'm about to tell you did not get back to your father but, you have a sister. She's twelve and Benny has no idea she even exists. I was scared he'd take her away like he took you and your brother from me so I never told him. She was born nine months after the week we tried to reconcile."

"You have a twelve year old kid with my dad? I have a little sister?"

"Yes. Please tell me you won't tell Benny. At least that you won't tell him who her father is. If you have to tell him anything tell him that I was briefly married again after I came back to Florida. Just please don't let him know she's his. I can't lose her after everything else."

Storm watched as her mother started to cry. She had never been good at comforting anyone but her brother. It just wasn't in her. She awkwardly rubbed her mother's back. "I won't tell him. He doesn't need to know."

Cara nodded and tried to compose herself. "I have to go pick Tabitha up from her school. Will you wait here? I'd like her to meet you, like you to stay with us for awhile. If you don't mind?"

"My calendar is looking pretty open for the next while." Storm smiled, but it came off slightly self-depreciating. "I'd be happy to stay and visit." Storm worried she sounded too needy. "Until Taylor realizes he misses me and begs me to come home. He's pretty stubborn but it shouldn't take him too long to start missin me bad enough for my phone to be ringing off the hook." She smirked playfully, hoping to lighten the mood.

Her mother smiled back and turned to leave the room. Storm realized she didn't even know what to call her own mother. Should she call her Cara or Mom?

"Will my sister like me?" Storm asked in a small voice, suddenly worried about what someone would think of her for the second time in her life. First her mother and now a sister. The group of people she was scared she would let down was growing every day. She didn't like living her life worrying about what others would think of her. Mostly it didn't matter. With most people she didn't care.

Didn't change the fact that when she did care she cared big. Her father, her brother, her uncle, Taylor. And now a mother and sister. The more people she had in her life whose opinion she valued the more inadequate she felt. She always felt like no matter what she was going to end up letting them all down. The more people who moved over into the valued pile the greater the feelings of inadequacy. What did she have to offer a kid sister?

"Of course. I would ask one thing of you though."

"Shoot."

"Please don't tell her what your father does for a living. And remember that as far as Tabitha will be concerned you have different fathers. So you'll have to try to remember that as far as she's concerned you and she are half sisters."

"Hey, no sweat. Until this morning I only had a brother. I'm not totally clear on the whole sister thing as it is. I've always had being the baby to fall back on and now I don't even have that."

"I guess you'll just have to get by on your good looks then." Cara replied.

Storm wondered if her mother was being sarcastic until she realized she was playing off the fact they both shared similar looks. Storm laughed. "I know that'll work at least."

"Ok. I won't be long. Tabitha's school is only a few minutes away. I'll sort of get her ready in the car. Then maybe after you two meet we can all go out to dinner to get to know each other better. Would that be ok?"

"That'd be perfect." Storm answered and adjusted her seat on the couch.

"Feel free to watch some TV or whatever while I'm gone."

"I'll be fine." Storm said as she watched her mother nod and then walk out the door of the house.

She blew out a shaky breath when she was alone. _A sister! _She didn't know what to make of that. She'd thought to find her mother. She'd never dreamed on her mother having another daughter; that she'd have to share with another child. A child who, due to her young age, needed a mother more then Storm knew she did.

Matty had been such a wonderful influence on her life. She was humbled to think she would have the chance to be that influence to someone else and scared that she wasn't up to it. What if her sister hated her? Resented her stepping into their lives after all this time?

This was turning into both the best and worst experience of her life.


	13. One More Broken Season

AN: Aloha everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I just had a lot to deal with lately. Plus this chapter was hard to write because as anyone reading is about to find out it's mostly finishing up the events of the movie. I skimmed them fairly fast because a) I'm assuming most of you have seen this movie, and b) if I wrote the movie out word for word and described all the scenes for those who haven't seen the movie this would be a hundred pages long ;). You will get the idea of what has occurred whether you've seen the movie or not, never fear. To answer our trivia from last update the line is from the song Satellite by Anna Nalick. I'm busily pimping her work all over as I am in love with her new album very much. Some of you will know I'm writing a story totally around her stories. So check it out, check this out, review it, review everything, ;) Or don't, I'm easy. Not easy like _easy. _I know for a fact someone reading this needs to get their mind out of the gutter. (And into the ditch with me where it belongs, teeheehee)

**Velocity Shift**

By _TempestRaces_

Ch. 12 – **One More Broken Season**

Who was she kidding? Storm asked herself as she waited on her mother to come back home. Home with her little sister. She wasn't fit to be a big sister to some kid! All she could be is the 'do as I say not as I do' example. She had nothing else to offer. What was she supposed to say? _Hey Kid, I'm Storm, your sister. Oh, what do I do for a living? I push X in a club owned by the Russian mob and illegally street race. How's school going? _That would just be _wonderful_. She wouldn't have used the word ashamed for what she was feeling when she thought about her kid sister knowing what she did, but it was an unsettled feeling. She didn't want her sister to end up like her that was for sure. It wasn't that there was anything exactly wrong with who she was, but it wasn't a forgiving life and Storm had learned that first hand.

Thinking about how she was no fit role model for a little kid made Storm realize she was going to need a story to tell her sister as to what she did for a living, and what her father did. Otherwise she'd stumble over herself and give herself away. She could always just say she was the daughter of a wealthy man and she didn't do much at all, but she would have to have a story to explain how her father got to be wealthy.

It had to be pretty safe to say he owned a fancy restaurant. Giando's was pretty fancy on the outside. Kids thought a businessman was a real job didn't they? Storm wished she'd thought to ask her mother more about what she should and shouldn't say to her sister. She didn't really know how to talk to little kids. She was never exposed to them. Her cousins were all her age so she'd grown up with them. She didn't have any that were much younger then her.

One thing she'd always prided herself on was her ability to jump right into situations feet first and come out on top so she figured all she could do this time was wing it like she always did. She was mostly a fly by the seat of her pants kind of woman anyway. She only sat down and really drafted plans when it came to her work. If her life was on the line she tried to be smarter then just jumping in without knowledge of what was going to go down.

She got up off he couch and started to pace around the living room. She found a bunch of framed pictures on the mantle of the fireplace at one end of the room. She walked over to them and started to study the images in them. Many were of a girl and followed her from an infant and toddler all the way up until her face lost its baby fat and became that of a preteen. _So this must be my sister_, Storm mused as she picked up what she would assume was the newest picture. The child had long mahogany hair, curly like her own. She had the same winged brows as Storm and her mother, although they weren't sculpted with tweezers the way Storm did hers. They shared the same light green eyes, nose with the slight upturn at the end, and long limbs.

She had just set the picture down when the front door opened. As she turned to face the door of the room with a startled look on her face a small human bullet ran into the room and pulled up short a few feet away from where Storm standing. Storm's eyes met that of her sister and each just stared, not really knowing what to say.

"Are you really my sister?" The child asked Storm with a touch of shock in her voice.

"Looks that way." Storm answered with a smirk. She wasn't really sure how to deal with this miniature version of herself.

"Cool! I always wanted a big sister. You're gonna stay with us for awhile?"

"I don't know. Your mother and I didn't really get as far as talkin about that."

"Of course you're going to stay and visit Storm. We have 20 years of catching up to do and you have 12 more to catch up on with Tabitha."

"Your name is really Storm?" Tabitha asked. She continued without waiting for an answer. "That is so totally cool. I can't wait until I get to tell all my friends I got a sister and she has a name like Storm. Is that your real name?" Tabitha asked rapid fire, hardly bothering to breathe.

"Yeah, it's my real name. Well, my real middle name at least. Mom made it up." It was strange to Storm to call Cara mom in her presence. She hoped it was ok. "My name's really Arabella, which my dad picked then Stormianna which mom made up." Storm informed her sister as she sat back down on the couch. Tabitha sat down beside her.

"Why is your hair blond?"

"Because I dyed it that way."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted a change." Storm left out the part where she'd done it to piss off her father because she knew he would hate it.

"Can I dye mine?" Tabitha asked her mother, eyes pleading.

"No." Cara answered with a smile.

"But Storm did." Tabitha wheedled.

Storm fought a grin. Her sister already wanted to emulate her. It was a pretty cool feeling.

"Storm is twenty years old and no one has any say over what she does to her head, though if she'd been living here at the time she would not have dyed hers either. So the answer is no."

"Can I get my eyebrow pierced like Storm's?"

"Not old enough kid." Storm answered before her mother kid, chuckling. "You gotta be 16 and have a parent's permission so you got four years to wait before you can get one even with your mother's permission."

"It sucks to be a kid."

"Seems that way now but someday you'll see." Storm told her sister and on impulse ruffled the kid's hair.

Tabitha smiled up at her sister. "Is that your car in the driveway? Mom says it is."

"It's mine. You like it?"

"It's really cool. It's painted like your name."

"That was the idea, alright."

"Can we go for a ride in it?"

"Well, mom talked about going out to dinner so maybe we could take my car then." Storm looked up at her mother.

"Sure. It's safe is it?" Cara frowned.

"Safe as any other '89 car." Storm shrugged. "It has seatbelts and brakes and all that good stuff."

"Ok then. Are we ready to go eat?" Cara asked and Tabitha jumped up.

"Can we go to McDonald's?"

"How about we pick someplace a bit nicer than McDonald's Tabitha? Storm can eat at McDonald's at home."

"Where are you from?" Tabitha asked her sister, realizing that if they'd never met then maybe Storm didn't live around them. Not to mention she'd picked up on her sister's accent.

"I'm from Brooklyn."

"Where's that?"

"New York City, New York."

"Really? You're from New York? Like all the way up north with Central park? Do you know the guys on friends?"

"Yeah, we have central park. Friends' is a TV show and it's filmed in Hollywood kid, it's not real. But a lot of New York really looks like that."

"Ok girls, let's go. If it gets any later we're not going to get into any half decent spots without a reservation."

The three women started out of the house and down the steps. Cara paused on the porch to lock the door. She slid into the back saying since Tabitha had been so excited to ride in the tricked out car it was only fair that she had the front on the way to the restaurant. "Sorry 'bout all the garbage back there." Storm said sheepishly as she heard her mother's feet crunch on Pepsi bottles. "I only stopped once on the way here so I did a lot of eatin' and drinkin' in the car. I normally take more pride in it than this."

"Don't worry about it. We have a ShopVac and other stuff in the shed out back. You can use them whenever you want."

"Great. I'll need to find a garage I can trust this bad boy to sometime soon."

"Why?" Tabitha asked as Storm started the car up.

"Because when he doesn't get his oil changes on time he gets cranky."

"Oh."

"So, where'm I goin?" Storm asked her mother as she met the woman's eyes in the rear view mirror as she backed down the driveway.

"Turn right out of the driveway and we'll drive into down town. There's this little Mexican place we eat at sometimes. The food is good. Do you like Mexican?"

"Mexican food is one of those things on my list of things to do that never got done. We don't have a lot of places to eat Mexican in Brooklyn. Besides, Matty ain't big on spicy food."

"Who's Matty?" Tabitha asked, her head snapping around to look at Storm.

"My big brother."

"Does that make him my big brother too?"

"I guess it does." Storm said, smiling. Matty was a great big brother. It was too bad he hadn't come with her. He'd love the whole little sister thing, Storm knew. "He'd be your half brother, like I'm your half sister."

"Where is he? Why didn't he come with you?"

"He didn't know where I was going. I wanted to check it out first. Matty and I look out for each other. I'll bring him along sometime soon."

"Does he look like you?"

Storm laughed out loud. "Not really. He looks like our father. Me'n his." Storm was quick to correct her statement. "Well, he looks like pop did when he was 24."

"Is that how old Matty is? Twenty four?"

"Yeah. And you're twelve right?"

"Yep. I'll be thirteen soon."

"If you consider eleven months soon." Cara said, winking at Storm in the rear view mirror.

"When's your birthday?" Storm asked her sister.

"October thirty first. When's yours?"

"August ninth. And Matty's is July fourth."

"Lucky!" Tabitha said jealously. "He gets fireworks on his birthday."

"You get to dress up and go trick or treating."

"But I never get to have a party on my birthday because everyone wants to go trick or treating instead."

"When you're just a bit older that'll change. You can have a Halloween birthday party at your house and set it up like a haunted house. People will come, just as soon as you all think you're too old to go out door to door."

"But you get free candy!"

"I was about 15 when I figured I was too cool to go door to door. Then my pop started letting me have parties at our place."

"Is your house as big as ours?"

"Tabitha! That's a rude way to phrase that." Cara frowned.

"It's bigger." Storm chuckled. "A lot bigger."

"It is?" Cara asked in shock. When she'd left her husband he'd lived in a fairly large apartment in Brooklyn. His place had not been bigger then her five bedroom house.

"Yeah. We have eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms. We don't live right in Brooklyn anymore. I guess pop moved us out to the big house pretty soon after you and him split up."

"What do you do with nine bathrooms?" Tabitha asked, clearly overwhelmed by the thought of having more bathrooms then bedrooms.

"No one has to share."

"How many people live in your house?"

"Just me'n Matty and Pop."

"Then why do you have such a big place?"

"Because my father likes to show off."

"To who?"

"His friends mostly. I don't care too much cause I get a cool room."

"What does your father do to have such a big house?"

"He's a business man." Storm watched the road almost too intently.

"What's a business man?"

"He owns businesses. He has a restaurant and a nightclub. He mostly runs the restaurant and has other people he pays run the other stuff."

"My friend Kelly's dad is a businessman too. He has to fly all over the place and she never sees him. Does your dad travel a lot?"

_Nope, got use to not being allowed when he was on parole_, Storm thought as she tried to figure out a lie. "No. All his businesses are right in New York so he doesn't have to travel. He's not that kind of business man."

"You can turn here. Left." Cara broke in and Storm changed lanes and signalled her turn. "Is Benny well?"

"Yeah. He's too darn stubborn to get sick. He's never ill. It's almost like sicknesses are scared to go there. I'm still trying to kick his ass at handball even though I can shatter Matty eight ways to Sunday."

"Yes, well you know what they say. The devil takes care of his," Cara looked up at Storm and Tabitha in shock, unable to believe what had left her mouth. "Own." She finished softly, not sure what her older daughter was going to make of the insult on her sainted father. She was glad when Storm laughed.

"Yeah, that could very well be it." Storm answered, still chuckling. Tabitha just looked at her mother and sister like she clearly thought they might be crazy.

They went into the restaurant that Cara had chosen and ordered supper, continuing to catch up over dinner.

xox

After leaving the diner Matty and his friends headed to the town's only motel. They checked in, taking two double rooms. Matty and Taylor would share, as would Chris and Marbles. They had some time to kill before they could expect to find anyone at the Shamrock bar, which the waitress had told Chris about.

"What do you think Taylor? Are we gonna find the money?" Matty asked as he kicked back on his bed and folded his hands under his head, staring at the ceiling.

"Of course we're gonna find the money. It's hard to hide the fact you just found half a mill from the world."

"I guess, but what if they're smart they aren't spendin' it? We won't know they have it and then what?"

"We'll worry about that if it happens. I think if we find the guy who runs the town then we'll find the money. A guy like that knows what goes on on his own turf Matty."

"I really hope so Taylor. I just want outta here."

"I just want outta here without killin Marbles for bein' suck a fucken moron."

"You'd never hear the end of that one." A small smile turned up the corners of Matty's mouth. Moron or no Storm had a soft spot for her former classmate.

"No kidden. Thank god bein' a loud mouth doesn't run in your family. If you were like her I'd have to kill one of ya." Taylor said as he lit a cigarette.

"But which one?" Matty asked, chuckling.

"Now that I don't know." Taylor answered, a smirk playing around his mouth. The sister did things for him the brother certainly didn't.

Matty looked over at Taylor and saw the look on his face. "I'm sorry I asked."

Taylor only chuckled at the look on his friend's face.

xox

Once they had dinner Storm and her mother and sister drove home. They stopped for movies on the way home.

"Well, I think since we had all this excitement we'll pretend tomorrow is a holiday." Cara told her girls as they left Blockbuster.

"You mean no school tomorrow?" Tabitha asked in excitement.

"That is what I mean. Maybe we'll go shopping or check out the boardwalk with your sister."

"Anything's better than going to school." Tabitha grinned as she climbed into the back seat of the car.

"Sounds familiar." Storm chuckled.

"You tried to get out of school any way you could too?" Cara asked.

"Oh yeah. Didn't really ever work but I tried everything from fake illness to saying the nuns told me to take the day off."

"You had nuns at your school?" Tabitha looked at her sister in shock.

"Yeah, I went to a catholic prep school. All nuns, all the time. They were ok."

"I don't have nuns at my school. I have a pretty cool teacher but I still can't wait to get to junior high. I'm going out for cheerleading. Did you cheer?"

"Not really my style kid. I don't do great with choreographed activities and I'm not happy enough to cheer. Cheering isn't my thing."

"Well me'n Stacey, my best friend, are trying out next year. Mom wouldn't let me start until then. Stacey's been in cheering since she was like six so she has a big head start. I might not make the team but she will for sure."

"I'm sure you'll make it. I'll ask my friend Devon for some pointers for you. He's all up in this hip hop choreographed dancing stuff. He's always trying to get me to do it too but I suck."

"Does Devon live in New York?"

"Yep." Storm turned onto her mother's street and fought back a yawn. It had been one hell of a long day.

"Will I ever get to go to New York?" Tabitha looked at her mother.

Cara looked panicked for a moment but got herself in control fast. "Maybe some day."

Tabitha looked ok with this answer and they finished the drive home in relative silence.

xox

"What in the name of Christ were you thinkin' Johnny? Droppin that kinda paper on the ground like that?" Chris ranted in the room next door to Taylor and Matty.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, what can I tell ya? The cop was right there! And that cop, wait 'til he looks at you someday, huh? He's fucken scary." Marbles paced around the room as Chris reclined on the bed he'd chosen for his own.

"Even still, he can't search your fucken bag without probable cause. All you had to do was walk in there like you wasn't doin nothin' wrong and pay for the damn fuel."

"Yeah, well hindsight's 20/20 ain't it?" Johnny sighed.

"You betta hope we find that fuckin money. Otherwise it's the end of you. Might just take Matty down with you." Chris said to his cousin with a frown.

"We'll find the money."

"You better hope so."

There was a knock on the door. Chris crossed to it and found Matty and Taylor waiting outside. "Time to head down to this Shamrock bar and take care of this thing." Matty said, looking only at Chris and ignoring Marbles.

"Ok, let's roll." Chris shrugged his suit jacket on and left the room. Marbles followed, pulling on his canvas jacket.

They got into their rented Jeep and drove to the bar. They parked and got out. One by one they stopped in the parking lot, just looking at the place. It was a clapboard building with a veranda around the front and round windows like portholes in the doors. Honky tonk music was barely discernible on the night air. With a sigh Taylor led the procession up to the door and through it, Matty close on his heels.

They stopped just inside the door and looked around. The bar was dingy and mostly filled with slot machines. There were a few people playing them and one hit a minor jackpot as they arrived. It was a page right out of a spaghetti western, full of old west Americana. All four men thought, as they looked around, that there wasn't anywhere they wouldn't rather be.

"It's like a fucken home comin over here." Taylor sneered.

"Are you kidden me?" Chris retorted before looking at his cousin. "They got action here Matty, legal fucken action."

"Grab a table, I got the beers." Matty walked away to get the beers as his friends walked off to find a place to sit where they would have a commanding view over most of the establishment.

Taylor noticed a group of people sitting in a back corner on his way to the table he'd chosen and noted their presence. Nothing about them worried him but he was still wary any time there was such a large group of people. It normally meant they would watch out for each other and when people did things in the name of loyalty they could do some pretty stupid things.

They sat down together. A few seconds later a waitress brought them a plate of bar nuts, peanuts in the shell. She set them down. "Do you boys need anything?"

Chris smiled up at her. "No, we're good. Very good."

Marbles checked out her ass as she walked away. Taylor never spared her a glance.

Over at the bar Matty walked up to the side and waited on the bartender to notice him. The man walked over. "Help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for the guy who runs this place."

"Owner lives up in Mile city."

"No, you know, I mean the guy who runs the place."

The portly bartender leaned down on the bar top. "I'm the night manager, you sellin' somethin'?"

Matty almost groaned in frustration. "Never mind. Just gimme three beers would ya?"

The bartender handed over his beers and Matty paid him with a twenty. "Just keep it." He told the man when he went to get the change. The bartender tucked the money into his shirt pocket, none of it made it into the register. Matty walked over to his friends. He set a beer in front of Taylor and Chris, keeping the third for himself. Marbles didn't miss the slight. He got up and started to look around the bar.

As Matty walked away from the bar the bartender walked around the end. "Hey Gordie, he called softly. The other man looked up. The bartender made a gesture toward the departing Matty. Gordie nodded that he understood the message, that someone was asking about him.

It didn't take long for Chris to become bored sitting at the table. He got up and wandered off to look around. This left Matty and Taylor sitting together on one side of the table. They were slowly going through the peanuts and were each on their second beer. Matty scanned the room. "You seen anybody with an unusually thick roll?" Matty asked without looking at his friend.

"No, and I've been watchin'." Taylor replied.

xox

Chris walked up to the jukebox. He was scanning the titles over, grumbling to himself about the selection of music. He heard a noise to his right and looked up to find the same waitress from before at his side. "Who the fuck are Brooks and Dunn?" He asked her.

It was like she ignored the tenor of his question all together. "Oh, they're real good aren't they? They're Terri's favourite." She turned to the bar. "Hey Terri, come here!"

A blonde walked over to where they were standing.

"How are ya dear?" Chris asked, grinning. She only smiled shyly in return. "People really dance to this?" He asked her in disbelief.

"Sure." She answered, still smiling.

"Show me."

"Show you?"

"Yeah. Come on." He pulled her into a dance with the help of a shove from the darker waitress and she started to show him a simple two step to the Brookes and Dunn ballad 'My Maria'.

"It's easier than easy." Terri said as they found a clear spot of floor. They did a few steps. "You dance real good. Where you from?" Terri asked as Chris as they danced.

"Brooklyn." He answered, his accent proving he wasn't lying.

"Oh." She answered with a smile. Brooklyn might as well have been the other side of the world to a small town country girl like her.

She noticed Gordie, the town tough guy sauntering up to where they were dancing. Her smile was replaced by a scared frown. "Oh great." They stopped dancing and looked at Gordie walking up to them. "These are nice guys here Gordie and we were just dancin'."

Gordie slapped her across the mouth. "Why don't you keep to yourself?" He growled at her.

Matty watched it go down from the table he was still sharing with Taylor. He never held with hitting women. He started to get out of his seat. Even if the man doing the slapping wasn't the one he was looking for he was still going to intervene. As he crossed the room the background noise fell to almost nonexistent as the patrons watched him go, anticipating trouble. Marbles felt the change of atmosphere from where he was and turned away from the game he was playing to watch Matty approach the bigger man.

Gordie watched the dark man approach him with a smile. _Who's this guy think he is,_ he wondered. He fought a laugh. "Well, you were askin' about me. You got my attention now don't ya?"

Matty held his gaze steadily. "You run this place? You the man? You the guy I'd come to if I wanted to sort some things out?"

"No I'm Brucker. I'm the guy askin' what the fuck you want. I'm also the guy who decides if you and your friends walk the fuck outta here or not." Brucker got into Matty's face as he spoke. When he was finished Matty nodded sardonically.

"Yeah, he'll do." He said as he turned to Taylor.

Gordie looked at them, wondering what they were up to but not afraid of them.

Matty and Taylor traded places. Gordie nodded to himself as he watched this happen. He'd figured the slighter man wouldn't mess with him. He still didn't look impressed when Taylor took Matty's place.

"Five hundred." Taylor stated.

"Five hundred what, douche bag?" Gordie asked and then, with a laugh, spit chewing tobacco juice onto Taylor's pant leg. Gordie and his friends laughed at the insult.

"Five hundred fights. That's the number I figured when I was a kid. Five hundred street fights and you could consider yourself a legitimate tough guy. You need them for experience, to develop leather skin, so I got started. Of course along the way you stop thinking about being tough and all that. It stops being the point. Get past the silliness of it all. But then, after," Taylor took off his jacket and handed it off to Chris, flexing his arms to show off the size and strength of his body as he did so, "you realize that's what you are."

"Listen, I don't got a problem with you, ok." Gordie started to get afraid. The man in front of him was big enough to be convincing with his statement that he'd been in five hundred fights.

"I'll tell ya, you learn a lot of things on the way to five hundred, none more important than this." Taylor grabbed the older man by his shoulders and drove his own forehead into the other man's nose. He then threw him to the ground where his hat fell off, revealing his bald head. His friends backed off a bit, not sure what to do and certain they didn't want to get involved with the much larger Taylor, whose arms were as big around as some of their necks. Brucker got up growling.

"You son of a bitch." He took a swing at Taylor.

Taylor ducked, the punch totally missed. He then grabbed the other man and punched him in the gut, then the kidney. Brucker never got a shot in on him. Taylor kept punching, first the gut then the kidneys, over and over. At one point he drove the other man's face down into his knee.

Matty returned to their table and started to finish his beer, not really wanting to watch. Beating up someone just for the sake of it went against a lot of his personality. He felt somewhat pacified just because the man known as Gordie Brucker had slapped the poor little blonde waitress. It was still painful to watch Taylor pound him into a bloody pulp.

After Brucker took the hit to his face off Taylor's knee he was laid out on the ground and he didn't get back up. His breathing was laboured and he was lying in a pool of his own blood. Taylor hauled him up and punched him in the face a few more times for good measure. That done he turned away and wiped the blood off his knuckles onto the seat of his pants. He put his coat back on. Matty walked up to the prone Gordie. He swatted the man's hand away when Gordie put it up to ward him off. It was now clear to the small town tough he was in over his head.

"Listen to me, before we walked in here this was your town right? Well, this is how you get it back. Something of ours went missing, and whoever took it has to be making it obvious. I want you to find out who. When you do you come meet me at the motel." Matty wiped some of Gordie's blood off his hand back onto Gordie's own shirt.

The four of them left the bar, Matty and Taylor together up front with Chris and Marbles coming along behind them. "Do you really think whoever's got the money would be stupid enough to just deek around with it?" Marbles asked his cousin again. Chris only shrugged.

xox

In the town's only convenience store two 'skate board punks' were calling back and forth as they grabbed stuff off the shelves. They walked up to the cashier and set the mountain of snack goods they'd picked out onto the counter.

"That be everything for you boys?" The man behind the counter asked.

"No, where do you keep your Cocopuffs?" One of the obviously stoned teens asked.

The cashier, use to such antics from the teens in a town without much better to do pointed to the cereal. He knew from experience it would be easier to simply help them check out then to make a big deal about the mess they'd made in the store. There was slush all over the machine and floor, the beef jerky display was destroyed, and they'd knocked over a great deal of the snack cake display. He rang them up and watched them leave before going to straighten up the mess they'd left.

xox

Matty drove the Jeep out to an abandoned service station. Since the bus still stopped there on the way to the expressway there was still a payphone on the corner. He knew his father would have missed him from home by now and he had better check in. He dialled home, his heart feeling like it was attempting to escape from his chest.

He listened to the phone ring a few times before his uncle, not his father, answered. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Teddy, it's me."

"It's you." Teddy answered before half covering the receiver of the phone. "It's Matty." Matty heard Teddy say into the room.

_They must be in the office together_, he mused.

"Where the fuck have you been kid?" Teddy carried on.

"I'm with Marbles, trying to take care of this thing." Matty answered, trying to figure out how much to say. "But I figure it's pretty much under control now."

"Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining. You tell me what's really goin' on." Benny broke into the conversation.

"Hey pop." Matty was literally terrified of what his father was going to do but he kept the feeling inside. "Listen I've have afew complications, that's all."

"Like what?"

"Where are you exactly?" Teddy asked.

"I"ll be home tomorrow." Matty hedged.

"You'll be home? I told you not to fucken go anywhere!" Benny yelled. "You got the bag with you at least, right?"

"Yeah, I'm going to get it right now." Matty tried to cover up the fact he didn't really have the bag.

"You don't have the fucken bag?" Benny roared. Matty could almost see his father turning red and feel his blood pressure climbing higher. The phone got muffled as Benny put it to his chest. "He begged me! He begged me for this shot."

"Pop, it's under control!" Matty called, but his father couldn't hear him with the phone down around his stomach. Teddy heard but chose not to say anything.

"And you, you convinced me to give it to him!" It was clear Benny was talking to Teddy.

"Pop! Would you listen to me?" Matty called, trying to defuse the situation.

"I shoulda known fucken better!" Benny said into the phone before slamming it down.

"Fuck!" Matty roared into the payphone.

"Matty," Teddy started back into the conversation. "That bag is not full of nickels, it has about half a million dollars in it. Now your father owes the guys above and Georgie fucken Yarkas. If we don't get that bag back in the next forty eight hours it's the three R's for us. The roof, the river or the revolver. Get that fucken bag."

"Yeah Teddy I know, I've been trying to handle…" The phone being hung up on the other end cut Matty's explanation off. "Fuck!" Matty slammed the phone down. "Fuck!" He roared.

xox

The sheriff walked up to the Shamrock as the manager was sweeping a pile of debris out of the place. It was a lot of glass, broken bottles, but it looked like more. He reached down and stopped the broom's path. He touched the pile of trash and his fingers came away bloody.

"Looks like more than the usual Thursday night Macarena, huh Haslo?"

"Yeah." The bartender sighed.

The sheriff looked around. He'd bet dollars to donuts his new, out of town guests were responsible.

xox

Gordie went into the convenience store. He took a piece of beef jerky and looked at the cashier. "Hey Glut, anyone been in here spending unusual amounts of cash?"

"Yeah, these two little skateboard punks. They wrecked the beef jerky display."

Gordie left and headed out to the area where the skateboard kids were known to go hang out. He pulled up and found his nefew and the kid's friend hanging out, drinking beers and smoking drugs. There was a new sound system in the back of Decker's truck.

"Hey Gordie." Decker said as he watched his uncle walk up. He noted his gate was very stiff.

"Fancy new system you got there." Gordie said.

"Yep." Decker answered, a smirk on his face.

"'Fraid I got some bad news for you boys."

"Kinda like that scarge on your face?"

"Shut up Tease." Gordie shoved him back into the truck. "I ain't in the mood."

"Ok." Tease gave up quickly, having no desire to mess with Gordie. Gordie left and headed to the motel.

xox

After leaving the bar Matty and Taylor went back to their motel room where Taylor put his throbbing hand on ice and Matty switched on TV while they waited for their information to come through. A hunting show came on.

"Look at these fuckers! Covered in camouflage, sitting out in the woods all day, stakin out a turkey!" Taylor looked at Matty with a stupid grin on his face. "What'd ya need to do that for? Go to Gristeedy's, get a butterball!" He shouted at the TV.

Matty laughed until a gunshot on TV wiped the smile off his face. He watched the turkey jump then fall down dead to the ground. "You know, we were gonna go once. November 14th, 1986." Matty said after a moment of thought.

"Get outta here."

"Yeah, just me and my pop, goin' upstate for deer. I remember I was gonna get woken up at four in the morning." Matty's voice was soft as he recalled his plans. "The knock came alright. Whole fuckin' door flew off its hinges. OC taskforce, feds, NYPD. They weren't takin' any chances with Benny 'Chains' that night.

"You know, sometimes I used to wonder what it woulda been like if we'd left the night before. If we'd just had those few days together, before he went in." Matty looked over at his friend.

"So this coulda been you huh?" Taylor asked, gesturing to the TV where a blond man was wearing full camo gear including a face net he'd just removed from his head was praising his kill.

"Yeah." Matty chuckled. "The gear, the face net, the whole deal. Woulda been a different life for me though, what can I tell ya." Matty looked away and Taylor sighed.

There was a knock at the door. Matty got up to go answer it as Taylor sat up to attention on his bed. Matty pulled the door open to find Gordie on the doorstep.

"I found out what you told me too." Gordie rasped sullenly. He told them who had their money and where it could be found.

As soon as they knew where their money was they hit the highway. The weren't letting it out of their sight again. Their plan was to stake out the house they'd been told the money was in out until they saw signs of the bag. It was still dark when they rolled up. Dawn slowly started creeping over the horizon as they sat, watching.

xox

They put Tabitha forcefully to bed around ten pm. Storm and her mother stayed up a while later watching TV and talking. By the time twelve rolled around Storm couldn't keep her eyes open.

"I'm gonna turn in," she told her mother. "I'm about done in."

"Ok, I won't be long behind you. Good night."

"Yeah, night." Storm said as she stood up and smiled at her mother before leaving the room and going up to her bed. She lay down on her back in the spare bedroom of her mother's house. Her mother's house. Who ever would have thought she'd be bunking down in her mother's house?

When one am rolled around and Storm was still awake due to an unsettled feeling in her gut she couldn't shake she knew there was only one thing she could do. She got out her cell phone and dialled her brother's number. He didn't answer. That got her worried. He always answered when it was her number calling. Why wasn't he answering? She told herself that perhaps he got a girlfriend, finally, and was too busy to answer and rolled over to try and get some sleep.

xox

The sun wasn't totally up, dawn still had the Montana space in it's murky grip. Everyone in the Jeep was fighting to stay awake after sitting through the night with nothing to entertain them at all. They were a piece away from the house in question. There as a vehicle out front so they were reasonably sure someone was home. Matty looked around before shaking his head.

"Can you believe this? A couple kids." Matty said in disgust. "Back home you find a bag of dog shit you go looking for who it belongs to."

As they were watching the kids in question left the house and headed for their truck.

"Ok, go time." Taylor said as he moved to get out of the Jeep. Matty and the others made similar motions to get out and go confront the kids.

Before they could reach the kids or the kids could get to their vehicle the local sheriff pulled up in his squad car and walked up to them.

Matty and Taylor both pulled back into their car, hiding down. Cautiously Matty peeked up. "What the fuck is that?"

Matty and his friends watched as the sheriff and the kids argued on the sidewalk for a moment. One of the kids was holding their bag. The sheriff took it and opened it up, revealing the contents. He marshalled the kid who'd had the bag back into the house, obviously angry.

"Fuck!" Matty slapped the steering wheel. "Fuck!"

xox

A childish voice raised in panic woke Storm the next day. She rolled over in bed and stared at the clock sleepily. Seven am? Who in their right mind got up at seven am? She rolled over to go back to sleep, but the voice, who she remembered had to be Tabitha as she lay in her bed in a state of semi consciousness, didn't let up.

"Mom, get up!"

"Tabitha, we were going to sleep in today, remember?" Cara called back from somewhere outside Storm's door. "You're not going to school today."

"I forgot I have a test and a meeting for us to practise before try outs. I can't miss today. I have to go."

"Ok, I'll be right down."

With a yawn Storm got out of bed and crossed the hall to the bathroom. She went back into her room and pulled on some track pants and a tee shirt out of her bag before heading down the stairs.

She found her mother and sister in the kitchen. Tabitha was eating cereal and Cara was starting a pot of coffee.

"Sorry we woke you." Cara said with a rueful smile.

"It's ok." Storm said on a huge yawn.

"Not a morning person are you?"

"Not at all. I do a lot of my work at night." _Oops, said too much_, Storm thought as she watched her mother's forehead wrinkle in thought. _Dad does a lot of work at night. Great, that's just what I need her thinking_. "I was a bar tender for the last while to make some money for my car." She quickly improvised.

Cara looked like she was far too shrewd to believe the tale but she let it go.

Storm grabbed a bowl out of the open cupboard and sat at the table, helping herself to Tabitha's Lucky Charms.

"You like Lucky Charms?" Tabitha asked like she didn't belive it.

"Love 'em. Anything that mixes sugar with marshmallows is ok in my book." Storm started crunching her way through her breakfast.

"Cool."

"Just when I had her half convinced that someone who wanted to do something as athletic as be a cheerleader had to eat healthy." Cara shook her head, but never lost her smile.

"I wouldn't know. I never went out for sports in school. I mean I have my Karate and boxing but I did those out side of school."

"You know Karate?" Tabitha asked.

"Yeah, you have to before they give you a black belt." Storm ruffled her sister's hair.

"Can you beat up a guy bigger than you?"

"Oh yeah. I can beat up Taylor and you should see how big he is." Storm held her arms out to exaggerate the breadth of Taylor's shoulders.

"Really?"

"Really. But fighting is wrong. You should only ever do it if there's absolutely no other option. Running away is better than fighting."

"But if you had to fight somebody you'd win?"

"I'd try my best and that's all I can do. And that's only if I couldn't get out if the situation any other way."

"Then why'd you learn Karate and boxing just to not use it?"

"So that if one of those situations where I had to use it ever came up I'd know how to protect myself." Storm thought of the firearm hidden in the trunk of her car. There were many ways she'd had to learn to protect herself, but she wouldn't be sharing that way with her kid sister. At least Karate taught morals and self control and discipline as well as self defence.

"Does Benny know you box?" Cara asked as the coffee finally finished brewing and she sat down at the table, a couple pieces of whole wheat toast in her other hand.

"He helped me set up my heavy bag in the gym room." Storm looked up at her mother. "That's not to say he likes it exactly. But he says that in this world a girl can never have too many ways to protect herself. Of course, his favourite way would be for me to never leave his sight."

"What does he think of this Taylor boy?"

"He likes him enough I guess. There's the little problem of Taylor's mother not being Italian but he seems to be taking that in stride."

"Why would that matter?" Tabitha asked with the innocence of someone raised in a household without racism.

"Because my father is Italian and from a different time when people only dated and married inside their own heritage. It's his problem but trying to change him doesn't get too far."

"Oh. So like he wouldn't like you dating a black guy or a Spanish guy either?"

"Nope." Storm shuddered to think what her father would say if she ever brought an African American guy home. He'd hit the roof. It made her think of the episode of Sopranos when Meadow Soprano had brought a mixed heritage guy home to her father's house. Tony's reaction to the boy had been tame compared to what Benny would do and Storm knew it.

"I don't understand why. Everyone's just the same inside."

"I know that kiddo but he doesn't. Sometimes what's on the outside means more to him than the inside does. When he grew up New York was like that. When he was a kid the Italian folks lived in one part of Brooklyn and the black people lived in another. That's what his parents thought was right and so that's how he grew up. When I went to school it was different so I didn't grow up thinking like that."

Tabitha shrugged and turned back to her breakfast. She looked up again as second later. "Since you're up can you drive me to school?"

"Tab, your sister has no idea where things are here yet. Let's let her get use to being here first."

"No, it's fine. If you can drive in New York City you can drive anywhere. Besides, I have to find a garage for the car to go to."

"If you're sure you don't mind?"

"Positive. I'll go clean it out while Tabitha gets dressed."

"Thanks!" Tabitha took off up the stairs to get ready for school. Storm headed out to her car and started gathering up all the trash and putting it in the garbage can she found beside the house. By the time her sister came out the car was mostly restored to its pristine condition.

"Ready?"

"Yeah! Thanks for driving me."

"No sweat."

"Can we turn up the stereo?"

"This early in the morning?"

"It's so cool."

Storm reached over and changed the setting from tuner to CD. She turned up the volume a bit higher, high enough for the sub woofers to start pounding a bit.

"This car is so awesome. I wish I had one."

"It won't be long until you're old enough. You'll see."

"Will you find me a car like yours when I get my licence?"

"There just aren't cars like this one to find you, but we'll hook you up with something."

"You race this don't you?"

Storm looked over at her sister, the shock of being caught written all over her face. "How'd you know?"

"Some of my friend's older brother's race too. They have this friend named Tej who gets them to race each other."

"Cool. I might just have to meet this Tej guy."

"If you go racing you so have to take me with you. Ok?"

"That might be a hard one to get mom to ok Tabitha."

"She wouldn't have to know."

Storm laughed in spite of herself. "I'll think on it after I find out what it's like around here, a'ight?"

"I guess."

They pulled up to the school and Tabitha hopped out, a small gaggle of other kids coming over to see her. A blonde child about Tabitha's height hugged her right off.

"Hey Tab!"

"Hey Stacey. I want you to meet my sister."

"Sister?"

"Uh huh." Tabitha answered with a smirk, letting Stacey lean into the car.

"Hey!" Stacey said as she looked in. "Sweet car!"

"Thanks."

"Oh man!" Tabitha called.

"What?" Storm and Stacey asked at the same time.

"I forgot my sneakers. I need them for practise. Could you bring them to me at lunch time?" Tabitha asked as her friend Stacey stood beside her and batted a pair of the biggest, bluest eyes Storm had ever seen.

"I guess so. When's lunch time?"

"Eleven thirty."

"I'll see you then." Storm said and Tabitha closed the door. When the kids were on their way toward the school she pulled away from the curb and headed off down the street. She pulled into the first gas station she found and filled up. She asked for directions to Tej's while she was there.

She got her directions and headed toward the ocean she could see in the distance. By nine am she was pulling up to a modern garage, all it's doors open to try and grab a bit of the breeze before the day got too hot. She parked the car and locked it before starting into the shady interior of the garage. All the equipment was new, the floors impeccably clean, and the layout perfect to allow for efficient work.

Tej looked up as a fairly tall woman with long golden blond hair in ringlet curls down her back walked into his garage. She was wearing black track pants, low on her hips and revealing her pierced navel. She had on a pair of red Oakley sunglasses tinted too deeply to see her eyes but her fitted athletic baby tee showed off a figure she definitely worked out for and a skin tone too perfectly even to have been developed solely by tanning. "Hey Mami, can I have you?" Tej coughed, "help you." He corrected.

Storm laughed. "The answer to both might be maybe." She pushed her shades up into her hair. "I need an oil change."

"I know you sure as hell don't need any front end work." Tej said as he walked closer.

"Oh I don't know. You can always go lower until you hit the blacktop. Besides, a front end can't never be tight enough."

"True dat. So mami, where you from? Never seen you 'round here before and that accent didn't come from Miami."

"I'm from Brooklyn. Storm." She held out her hand.

"As in my name is?"

"Yeah. You would be?"

"Tej. Tej Parker."

"Storm Demaret, lately of New York City New York. I need to get an oil change. My car was due a few hundred ago."

"What you drive?" Tej asked. He really didn't do oil changes on any but the most highly tuned cars of his most valued customers but for this girl he'd likely make an exception.

"Before we go there I need to know if you have Royal Purple oil, formula 11."

"Yeah. Now you really need to tell me what you drive that you're running that oil in. Mazda of some sort?"

"Nope, Nissan. Let's go have a look." Storm started back out the way she came, Tej following her.

"No shit." Tej walked around the car in shock. "Where the fuck did you get this?"

"I could tell ya, but I'd haveta kill ya." Storm chuckled. "You think you got the right tools to work on it?" An eyebrow rose to accent the question, throwing a double entrendre into it.

"I think I can hook you up. Who does your work back home?"

"CJ Keller."

"No shit. Really?"

"Yeah, take it you heard of him."

"Who hasn't? He was coming up in NHRA's northeast division when he crossed the barriers and almost burned to death. He wasn't ever really heard of again."

"He decided the actual track part of racing wasn't for him anymore. He opened up a custom rod and street shop in NYC and started tuning cars, but only for the best. He has a store front and sells parts to the general public but he doesn't build too many custom cars. When he saw mine he couldn't say no, even though I didn't have much street cred at the time." _At least not in the racing world._

"I don't think I could say no either." Tej answered as he finished his circuit of her ride. "Well, I have the oil in stock but the filter might be a problem."

"Stock filter off a '90 s13'll work. It's the same threads and gasket."

"Sweet, that I can do. Pull it in."

When her car was ready Storm headed back to her mother's, a piece of paper with the address of racing tucked into her back pocket. She banged into her mother's house. "Mom?" It still felt strange to say that out loud.

"Yes?" Cara asked as she walked out of her office.

"I have to bring Tabitha her cheering sneakers. She forgot them."

"No kidding." Cara laughed softly. "She needs them at lunch time?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Just so you know, McDonald's is five minutes away from the school. Stacey likes her burger with only ketchup and Tabitha likes everything but pickles. Stacey likes Coke and Tabitha likes orange. Don't be alarmed that Stacey eats all the way around the outside of things before she'll eat the middle. Do you have money?"

"You think she's going to try and con me into taking them out to lunch?" Storm chuckled at the thought.

"I'd bet on it." Cara grinned. "They don't practise until twelve. When did she tell you to be there?"

"Eleven thirty."

"You better get going then. Sure hope there's something you like at McDonald's."

Storm left the house shaking her head. She was back at her mother's house two happy meals, one big mac, and half an hour of watching cheerleading practise later.

xox

The guys went back to the motel after they watched the kids and sheriff leave with the money.

"Now it's one thing to run around here trying to track the bag, but cops? That makes it a different story for me. If they start asking questions like where the cash came from how are we gonna answer that?"

"He's right." Marbles added his agreement to his cousin's statement.

"Well I gotta do something. Cause of helpin you, I mighta killed my old man."

"How do you figure that? Alright, I lost the bag but I ain't gettin arrested over it. What good is that gonna do?"

"Arrested. Can you believe this guy?" Matty looked over at Taylor in disbelief. "That'd be the good news. That bag was like life support for my father. He needed it yesterday."

The four piled into their Jeep and drove to the sheriff station. They walked in and walked up to the counter. The sheriff walked over. "What can I do you for?"

"I'd say about a half million sheriff."

"That so?"

Matty nodded, the look on his face serious but confident. "Me and my friends wanna get out of your town but before we go there's something we just can't leave without."

"This ain't the lost and found. People round here are real careful with their property."

"Yeah, cause you wouldn't wanna misplace your cow or nothin'." Marbles mumbled.

"You got a real set of oysters on you son, walking in here like you belong." The sheriff shook his head. "Be that as it may, you say you lost some money, high dollar amount. As a public servant I'd like to help you get it back. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Listen sheriff, why don't you and I have a little talk in private?"

The sheriff gave a little nod and Matty followed him into his office.

A few minutes later when Matty wasn't getting anywhere he looked at the sheriff. "Look I know you have the money. I saw you take it off the kids. So what you and I have to do is come to some sort of understanding."

"Understand this!" The sheriff grabbed Matty and started to beat him up. Taylor started toward the office. The sheriff wasn't walking out of the building alive. Not after putting his hands on Matty.

Next thing he knew he had a shotgun in his face, the deputy looking scared behind it. It was clear if pushed, the deputy would pull the trigger. All Taylor and the rest could do was watch as Matty took a beating. By the end of the fight the sheriff had his side arm aimed at Matty's head and the deputy was begging him not to pull the trigger.

The sheriff hollered for them to get Matty out of his sight so they loaded him into the Jeep, marbles slid behind the wheel, Chris and Taylor took the back.

"Forget this shit Marbles, straight to the airport."

"Abso-fuckin-lutely," Marbles replied. "We have to just chock this one up to the lost collum and forget it."

"Forget it?" Taylor asked, his voice low with his anger. "Look at him!" he roared.

"What're you gonna do?" Chris asked. "You gonna kill up a bunch of cops?"

"Pull over." Matty moaned. "Marbles, pull over!" He called as his friend didn't listen.

"Matty, what if they call the feds?" Marbles asked, scared.

"If they were gonna call the feds they would have already. Taylor's PO woulda been called. The motel would be swarming with law. They would have taken us into custody the minute we walked in that station. They don't want us in the system because they don't want anyone else to know about the money."

"What're you talkin about?"

"They're keepin' the money." Taylor growled like he was talking to a small child. The look on his face clearly showed his growing frustration for Marbles.

"Look, you two can leave if you want to but I ain't goin anywhere." Matty said as he held his bruised side and kept talking himself through taking shallow breathes.

xox

The sheriff and his deputy were in there office later. The sheriff had his feet up on his desk. Donnie, the deputy was waiting by the fax machine. It spit out another piece of paper which, after scanning, he carried over to Stan.

Stan looked over the papers again. "Scarpa, god damn. I've heard that name."

"Yeah, that's because Bill Curtis was talkin about him on the History of Organized Crime on A&E."

"You get A&E on that satellite?"

"Yeah. You think that's his kid?"

"I surely do. And you know what? That Demaret kid wasn't just jaw waggin. His daddy, Benny Demaret seems like he's just under the top guys."

"Shit Stan, an under boss? We're not rousting juvies here. This is serious. They're not just gonna let this go, that kinda money. They're gonna call their fathers and their uncles and they're gonna come here lookin for the money. The whole place is gonna be crawlin with them."

"You've been watching too damn much of that satellite Donny. Nobody's coming in this marine's town and doin a damn thing. Just think about it. They can't just call and say they lost the money. They woulda done that already. Either that or they end up in a barrel of acid or whatever else they do with their bodies these days." Stan chuckled.

"Look, I see what you're sayin, I just don't figure on them leaving empty handed."

"That's the thing Don, we can't let them leave." With a grin, Stan fed the faxed pages into the paper shredder.

xox

Somehow, the guys all ended up at an ice cream parlour. "I'll tell you one thing, next time I see those fucks I'm gonna be packin." Taylor said as he stood beside Matty. The next person who laid a hand on his friend would eat lead.

"I keep a piece in my plane." Marbles licked some ice cream off his lip.

They drove to the air strip to find Marbles' plane on fire. Marbles watched it burn, his fingers hooked through the chain link fence. Everything he'd worked for, gone up in flames.

"I'm sorry Johnny." Chris said as he walked up behind his cousin.

Matty and Taylor watched from farther back, unsure what to say or do for a man who for all purposes was still their friend, no matter how stupid he could tend to be.

Half an hour later after an encounter with a strange man whose hat proclaimed him an 'Elk-a-holic' Matty and his friends were armed. They headed out to an out of the way shooting range to practice before any farther encounters with unfriendly people, law or otherwise.

After running through a few clips Matty went to sit down and Taylor joined him. After lighting up a cigarette Taylor looked around. "I gotta say this one time."

"What's that?" Matty asked.

"You and Scarpa take the car and drive. Leave me here Marbles, it's his fault anyway."

"You serious? No, there's no way. It's not even a choice."

Taylor took a deep breath. "Matty, I'm not just talking about this little field trip. I'm talking about all of it. You had it right in the first place. Lookin for a regular job, being a citizen."

"I tried it man. It's the only thing left now."

"You don't want a piece of this. Matty, for 99 guys out of a hundred this is loose loose. It's not like it was thirty years ago. It's not like those stories your uncle use to tell us when we were kids. Now it's either a bullet in your head or jail for life." Matty played with is gun and got it jammed. "Just snap it back in there." Taylor told him.

"So you know all this but I don't see you tryin to get out."

"You, we're talking about you here."

Marbles and Chris started firing off rounds like Yosemite Sam. With a shake of his head Taylor turned his attention back to Matty.

"I'm sorry I got you into this Taylor."

"Just more of the same for me. Just more of the same." Taylor answered. Some Demaret sibling was always getting him in hot water. Some facet of his life was always doing the same. He was getting use to it.

xox

Storm and her family had pizza for supper and then went to see a movie. After the movie was over they came home and watched a little TV. Tabitha went reluctantly to bed around ten and her mother followed her a few hours later. By one am Storm was dressed up in some of her 'clubbing' clothes and on her way down to the address Tej had given her. She was ready to make a little money.

Things were certainly looking up for her. Sure she was still madder than hell at her dad but her mom was cool and it was actually not too bad to have a little sister. After she saw what it was like to race in Miami she might even sneak Tabitha out of the house and take her. At least for a little while. Next time that was. Tonight was all about her.

She was momentarily upset that CJ, Devon and even Taylor weren't around to be her cheering section but she knew she'd do ok on her own. She knew she wasn't the best racer but she had the element of surprise on her side. No one knew her car or her.

By the end of her night she headed home with an extra two grand in her car, hidden in a secret compartment under the back seat. She hoped her brother, wherever he was that he wasn't answering her calls, was having as much fun as she was.

xox

They finished up at the range and by the time they were approaching the motel it was dark outside, coming up on nine pm. As they parked they realized they were parking beside a black Cadillac. Matty saw his uncle Teddy. No help for it, they'd already been seen. They'd have to get out and talk to Teddy and his crew.

"You guys are on a real busmen's holiday aren't you?" Teddy asked in deceptively calm tone as Matty and his friends got out of their Jeep and walked over to the car.

"And look at you. Roll into town with more guys than Sinatra right?" Matty asked, fighting to look like he was glad to see his uncle.

"Ok." Teddy said.

Marbles tried to apologize. Teddy slapped him to the ground. "Marbles that voice cuts right through me. If it wasn't for Matty I'd look to kill you where you stand. As it is I could kick you through the uprights like a fuckin field goal." He turned to Matty. "Where do we stand?"

"We had a snag. Cops are involved."

"Dirty fuckin cops." Chris interjected.

Teddy never took his eyes off Matty. "Yeah, he said cops. They give you that make over?" Matty nodded. "They do nice work." Teddy said over his shoulder to his goons.

"Listen, you wanna talk inside?" Matty said, trying to make peace.

"No, we're not gonna talk here. We'll go over state lines into North Dakota. If anyone's looking for us we don't want them to find us yet."

They went to a small drive in and started to talk. One of Teddy's men imparted that Sheriff Decker came from the military and had been in office eighteen years. He controlled the town.

"Good, man use to running things is going to think he can run this." Teddy said. "Marbles, pay the check." Teddy gave the bill for their food to Marbles as everyone else went outside. "Matty, you ride with me."

Matty tossed the keys to Chris as they walked outside. He stopped beside his Uncle and looked at the movie on the screen. "I gotta ask you something. You know, none of my guys would even be here if they weren't trying to help me. If we get that money back nothing happens to Marbles."

"You know there use to be a way to do things and things got done. No room for whining, no room for mistakes. But now everybody's feelings are involved. Guy steps wrong now he's going to end up on the witness stand or the fuckin Barbara Walters. But because it's you askin' Matty, I'll give you a one time only. Nothing will happen to your friend."

They headed back to Montana to wait for the Sheriffs next move. They didn't have to wait long. The phone rang in Matty's room.

By the time Matty hung up they had a meeting with the sheriff at an old meat packing plant at midnight. They started making plans for what would happen once they got there, deciding that Matty and Taylor would go alone, leaving Teddy and his crew to find places earlier so they'd be out of sight for back up against the sheriff should he prove to be up to something other than simply giving the money back like he said he was.

Marbles and Chris were no where to be found.

xox

Marbles and Chris had gone to a bar just outside of town. Marbles was nursing a beer, Chris was swilling down scotch on the rocks like it was going to run out in the next few hours.

"You might wanna notch it back there nosh, we got work tonight."

"I don't know. I'm not feeling ready."

"You're not talkin' 'bout leaving are you?"

"Oh yeah." It was clear that was just what Chris was talking about. "I think you should come with me cuz."

"No, no way. Matty needs us."

"Matty's got all the backup he needs. Bus rolls by on the interstate and goes to Billings at eleven fifteen. I booked us a room at the Sheridan. Back in New York by tomorrow morning, my father works things out with Benny 'Chains', six months from now nobody's gonna remember a thing."

"No. Not a chance, no fuckin way."

"Look, you're my first cousin and I have a responsibility to you."

"This whole thing is my fault. It's my doing and I'm stickin'. If you gotta go, you go." Marbles took another pull of his beer. For once, he was doing the right thing. He watched as Chris paid his tab and headed out for the bus stop, tossing his cousin one last searching look over his shoulder.

Johnny started hustling some locals at pool. Before he knew it they were down a bit to him and didn't have the money. His smart mouth was just about to get him in trouble again when Teddy's goons walked in. They got the locals to leave them alone and left the bar.

"Where's Scarpa?" Billy 'Clueless' asked conversationally as he butted out his cigarette.

"Oh he stepped out. Why?"

One second they were on the same team the next Teddy's men were beating him down.

"Where's your fuckin' cousin?"

"Wait! Matty said nothing would happen to me. Talk to Teddy." They dragged Marbles around to the back of the motel.

"Who do you think sent us?" One of them hit Marbles in the head with the butt of their gun, knocking him down to the ground.

"Come on, where's your cousin?"

"I don't know."

"It's no time for bean shootin'." 'Clueless' aimed his gun at Marbles head.

"Maybe he went back to the motel?"

"We were at the motel Marbles."

"Well then, I don't know where the fuck he is." Marbles knew he was staring his death in the face. He decided, with his last few minutes of life, not to be a screw up. He could do one thing right in his last moments on the earth and that was protect his cousin as Chris had protected him so many times.

He was going to die. It no longer mattered that Chris had taken the easy way out. It no longer mattered that he'd lost the money. He had no doubts that Teddy would get it back. He also had no doubt that Matty was too much the favoured son to have anything bad happen to him over the whole thing. He'd be forced out of the business again, but Marbles was now seeing that wasn't such a bad thing.

He wished he would get to say good bye to Matty, say sorry one last time. He wished he'd get to apologize to Taylor for dragging him into so many scraps. He wished they'd gotten that chance to all get together and have a good time one last time. Just one last time before they had to stop being kids. The last party Storm had promised him before they'd gone to Chris' pub. Now they'd never get the chance again.

But most of all he wished that he wasn't going right from being barely more than a child right into his grave. With a deep breath he looked up into the dark barrel of the gun aimed at his head, refusing to give up any farther info.

'Clueless stepped back like he had just been bluffing all along. The momentary reprieve was a tease. "Guess it's just you then." The other goon stepped up a second later and cocked his gun, taking aim and firing off four shots. They loaded Marbles into the trunk of the Cadillac. As his last breath left his broken body, his last wish was that someone would tell his mother he never meant to hurt her.

xox

"Believe this? It's almost time. I'm telling you Marbles and Scarpa are bailing on us." Matty and Taylor were sitting on a bill board, just waiting for the right time to go join Teddy at the meat packers.

"That's about the only thing you can count on in this life. There's nobody wouldn't hurt you if it helped them." Taylor hated to disillusion his friend, but it was the truth as he saw it.

"Well, I know that now." Matty said, sounding sick. "You ready?" At Taylor's nod he stood up. "Let's go."

They let the sheriff think that he was arriving at the meeting first. In reality they'd set it up so that Teddy and his men were already hidden around the meeting room. The sheriff didn't even know Teddy and his crew were in town.

The sheriff and his deputy headed into the room and got ready, waiting on Matty and his crew to show up. Sheriff Decker checked out the room, his cocked shot gun resting on her shoulder. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Won't be long now Donny."

Teddy and his crew looked on from behind some machinery.

Matty and Taylor started down the same path as the sheriff had taken a few minutes earlier. Matty cocked his gun.

"We just walk right into it." Matty said as they walked. He was starting to feel his nerves. "Keep this guy talkin' right?"

For the first time in the whole situation Taylor wished he had Storm with him and not Matty. He could use an experienced marksman at his side. Someone who he knew could handle the pressure and noise. Could take aim on a human heart and fire hot lead into it without thinking about it, without guilt, without emotion. He knew that at least until all was said and done Storm would run on autopilot and do what needed to be done. He was going to have to be on his guard of Matty the whole time and that was a lot to think about. Matty had no idea how to handle the situation.

"Yeah. Ok, turn off the part of your brain that thinks. Just react. It's gonna be a lot louder then you fuckin think or you might not hear a thing."

They pushed into the main room of the packing plant and immediately found themselves with shotguns trained on them. The sheriff told them where to stand, noting there were only two of them. "So where are the other two clowns?"

"Where the fuck is my money?" Matty asked with the beginning of a sneer on his face.

"No, we wanna see the other two."

Matty just shrugged in answer to the sheriff's demand. Taylor stood like a brick, silent and solid. He was happy with the way Matty was handling himself.

"Come to think of it we can find them later." Sheriff Decker said as he pumped up his shotgun.

"Slow down farmer brown." Teddy said as he walked up behind the sheriff. The deputy spun around. "Jim, don't point a fuckin gun at me." Teddy addressed the deputy with a growl.

"I fuckin knew it." The deputy muttered. He'd never wanted any of this. He'd wanted to give the money to the proper authorities from the beginning.

"Shut up." Teddy growled.

Matty and Taylor pulled out their weapons. Matty had a single weapon, Taylor had one for each hand.

"I know you thought this was a manageable situation," Teddy continued, talking now to Sheriff Decker. "But some situations are unmanageable. Now, is a dumb shit like you at least smart enough to bring the money?"

Decker tossed the bags up on a table. There was a tense moment while they all stared at each other, no one exactly sure what to do next. A set of door on the other wall flew open and Gordie Brucker came through it, a shotgun in his hands. He quickly trained it on Taylor. "Hey asshole!" Gordie said in a sing song voice as he came fully into the room. Teddy's men quietly backed out of sight. "Put 'em down! Put the guns down." Gordie yelled as he pressed the barrel of his shotgun into the flesh under Taylor's chin. He knew from the beating he'd already received Taylor was the one to watch out for.

Matty and Taylor had no choice but listen. They set their guns onto the floor.

"What the fuck is he doin' here?" Donny asked Stan.

"It's like this Don, there's a lotta money in them bags." Gordie drawled.

A blast of a shotgun later Gordie was laying dead on the floor. "Holy shit!" Chris Scarpa said from the same door as Gordie had used, a smoking shotgun in his hands.

"Chris!" Matty said, looking at his friend.

"Holy shit." Chris fought to keep a satisfied smile off his face. He couldn't believe he'd just shot a man, but doing it to save his friends it didn't seems to bad.

"I thought you left us."

"Naw, I had to come back." Chris looked around the room. "Where's Marbles?"

"I thought he was with you." Matty couldn't keep the beginnings of panic out of his voice.

"No, he said he wouldn't leave."

As Scarpa moved toward giving away Teddy's hand and filling Matty in on the whole thing Teddy gave a nod toward one of his goons. The man cocked his gun and took aim at Chris. He fired off two rounds. Both of them found their mark. Chris slid down the wall into a seated position. He was dead before he reached the round.

"NO!" Matty roared as he watched his cousin die. It was like his voice unleashed everyone.

Sheriff Decker shot and killed both of Teddy's men. By the time he and his deputy had turned around to Taylor and Matty Taylor was ready for them. He started firing with both guns, killing the Sheriff and severely wounding the deputy. Taylor was glad Matty hadn't needed to even fire his weapon.

His black eyes taking in everything, still on his guard, he saw Teddy hiding behind one of the machines. He had a look in his eyes that Taylor really didn't like. He saw Teddy move to the other side of the equipment. Some instinct told him the man was up to no good. Just as his brain registered the fact he saw Teddy raise his gun and point it straight at Matty. Without a moment's hesitation he launched himself through the air at Matty.

He felt a bullet tear into the flesh of his arm. His only comfort as he lay on the floor in agony was that as far as he could tell he'd managed to save Matty.

Teddy looked around. He wanted to finish Taylor off for ruining his plan, then his nephew for cheating death and ruining the carefully contrived accidental death Teddy had tried to give him.

Matty stood up from the ground, where Taylor's tackle had left him. His eyes revealed his total disillusionment. His own uncle had tried to kill him. He watched as Teddy forced the anger for his failure off his face and moved toward the bags of money.

"Let's see what we got here."

"It was you! You came out here to do this."

"I know what I told you kid but no one fucks up like your friends did here and comes out clean. No."

"Bullshit." Matty spat out. "You came out here to take that money." Teddy looked around, trying to pretend he was hurt by Matty's words. "There were never any shortages. You're the one who's been stealing from my father you son of a bitch."

"Matty, it's not like that."

"Stop fuckin telling me how it is Teddy. My whole life you've been fuckin telling me how it is. My whole life you've been lying to me. You put me in that basement with Bobby Boulevard because you knew it would break me. You came here tonight to kill me. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I'm wrong about any of it."

"What the fuck do you want to know? I did what I did. Walking off that handball court dumping game after game to your fuckin old man. And I tell you I could beat him carrying a lawn chair in my left hand. So yeah, now I'm getting mine."

"No you're not Teddy."

"What are you gonna do Matty? You gonna shoot me? You're not gonna shoot me. I got shoes older than you kid, tougher too."

Teddy turned around. It was just like Taylor had said. Matty didn't think, he just reacted on instinct. He knew there was going to be a gun in his uncle's hand. He knew Teddy wouldn't let him walk out of the plant alive if he had a breath left in his body. As his uncle started to bring his gun up Matty found his already aimed. He squeezed off a whole clip before he knew it, each bullet tearing through his own flesh and blood, making Teddy jerk in the air.

As Teddy fell still to the ground Matty looked at him through the haze of gun smoke. It was finally over. So why didn't he feel better about it, more relieved? He knew that he'd only done what he'd had to do to save himself. Not to mention Taylor, who would have been next on Teddy's list of people who couldn't leave the plant alive. But that didn't make him feel any better about the fact he'd just killed his mother's brother.

As his gaze moved around the room he saw all the death. The last person he saw was Chris. How could this be considered a victory at all? He was the only one left.

He heard a groaning behind him and turned around. Like Taylor knew the threat was neutralized he was starting to move, making pained noises as he moved. "Taylor?" Matty asked as he moved to his friend's side, helping him to sit up. After Taylor was in a slightly more comfortable position Matty slid to the ground and sat close to him on the floor. He knew he was in shock. He didn't have any idea how he was going to go on with a normal life from where he found himself.

After a few minutes recuperation he helped Taylor up and put him in the Jeep, heading for the motel. As he drove he looked over at Taylor, tears running down his cheeks. He still couldn't believe what had happened. He was so glad Taylor would be ok. He knew they'd have to get the hell out of town before the carnage at the plant was found. He forced himself to put his cousin's body into the back of the Jeep. He'd leave his uncle and Teddy's crew plus the law enforcement officer's bodies to tell the story of what had happened. He didn't want the last memories people had of Chris to be those kind of thoughts.

Matty gathered all their stuff up quickly and loaded into the Jeep. Taylor needed attention and he was getting worried about his friend's unresponsiveness. Matty had one thing on his mind. Get someplace safe in the next town and call his sister. With Taylor out of commission she was the only one he could count on to know what to do.

He pulled into a motel in a small town almost an hour away and parked in a dark area. He went in and got a room. He had to force Taylor up and into the room. He gave his friend a clean towel to use to keep pressure on his wound before he took a deep breath and flipped open his phone. He turned in on for the first time in days.

"What you doin?" Taylor growled low in his chest. It hurt to move even enough to talk.

"What do you think? I'm callin my sister."

"Why?" Taylor moaned. "She shouldn't be involved."

"She's the only one who can help us right now Taylor. We got no plane, no plan and you're hurt. We need someone to fix you up and get us home."

"Storm's in Miami. How's she gonna get here?"

"What's she doin in Miami?" Matty asked in puzzlement. He'd known she was taking off for somewhere but he's pretty much figured it was Jersey or maybe Atlantic City, not Miami.

"Dunno." Taylor clamed up, lines of taunt pain around his mouth.

"I'm callin her anyway. She'll find a way to get here. She's never let me down before." Matty turned the phone on and saw how many voicemails he had. As he flipped through the list of missed calls he saw most of them were from his sister's cell phone. A few were from his father. "She's been tryin to call me. I hope she's ok." Matty told Taylor as he dialled.

xox

Storm heard her phone ringing on her nightstand. Rolling over onto her side she reached out blindly and grabbed it before flipping it open. "Hello?" Her voice was husky, her sleepy state evident.

"Sorry to wake you up Stormi but," Matty's voice broke. "Oh god, I need your help."

Storm sat up, flicking the blankets off herself even as she turned on the lamp and started looking for her jeans. "What happened?" She took a deep breath to calm herself. It was clear Matty was upset, but if he could use the phone he was ok. It was just that she'd had a sense of unease nagging at her ever since she'd started trying to call him and getting messages that all calls were forwarding to voicemail.

"I took a job for pop and I fucked it up. We're in North Dakota, in a small place called Beech. It's bad sis. Taylor got shot. It's worse than that but I won't go into it over the phone. Can you get here?"

"Of course. I'll get Johnny to fly me." Storm paused, a sixth sense kicking in. "Marbles was with you, wasn't he."

"Yeah." Matty didn't miss her use of the word was. "Is there anyone else who can get you here?"

"Yeah, I got a few other favours to call in. I'll be there in a few hours. What's the name of your motel?"

Matty named the place and hung up. Storm shut her phone and slid into her jeans before pulling a sweater over her head. She zipped up her boots and started down the stairs a quietly as she could. She guessed it wasn't quiet enough when, as she was looking for her car keys, her mother came down the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Cara asked, instinctively knowing something was up.

"Matty's in trouble. Taylor too. I have to go to them. I need to get to North Dakota, yesterday. I have to jet. I'll call in some favours on the way to the airport."

"You won't get a flight into North Dakota at this hour."

"Not commercial I won't. I'll charter a plane. A good friend of mine's a pilot. I know some people through him. One of them must have a contact to use in Miami."

"Is Matty ok?"

"He sounds ok physically. Something went really wrong. He was panicked and he said Taylor was hurt. I have to get there. I'll call you when I get more information. Tell Tabitha I'll be back. I don't know when but I'll be back. I promise."

Cara nodded. She already knew that promising wasn't something her daughter took lightly. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

The two women stood looking at each other for a moment before, as though they shared the thought they hugged tightly. Storm headed out into the night air, ran lightly over to her car and backed down the driveway, already using voice dialling to start making calls.

Thanking god for Vanya, she found herself onboard a privately chartered Cessna a just shy of an hour later. Due to the private nature of the flight all they needed was clearance to take off and land. There was no airport security, no filed flight plan. Storm checked her Glock for the tenth time since she'd gotten on board.

"Is fine Storm. You have checked gun every five minute since take off. Leave alone, da?"

Storm looked over at Yerik. "I don't know what I'm walking into here."

"My father say I stay with you 'til is ok. Will be fine."

"I hope so."

"I too have brother. I know what is like for them to hurt. Will be ok." He patted Storm's shoulder. He was Vanya's oldest boy. The one she'd be married to already if Vanya had his way. Storm had never figured out how Vanya thought his 32 year old son wasn't too old for her. He was acting like a much older person right now. Storm could only nod tiredly.

They arrived at the closest airport to Beech they could and got a car. The way Storm drove the rented machine it made short work of the miles between her and her beloved brother. She pulled up to the motel with a screech and ran up to the room Matty had told her was his.

Her almost frantic knock was quickly answered. The second Storm saw her brother she had his face in her hands as she looked him over. His lip was still slightly split, his eye still showing a trace of bruise. "Matty, who did this? Are you ok?" She started to check over the rest of him. He pulled her into his arms.

"I'm ok." He murmured into her hair.

Storm pulled back and took one last look at Matty to be sure he was ok before returning his hug hard for several minutes. Then she pulled away from him and moved farther into the room. The second she saw Taylor lying in the bed, totally still and very pale she ran to his side. "Taylor. Who did this?" Storm asked, murder in her eyes.

"They're taken care of already." Taylor said softly. Storm reached out a hand and ran it down his cheek. He felt warm.

"Did anyone do anything for your shoulder yet?"

"No." He grumbled. "I'll be fine."

"You won't be fine if we don't deal with it. You're starting to get a fever. No chance of talking you into a hospital visit?"

"Not a chance." Taylor growled. Storm turned to the tall, wide Russian man who was discreetly waiting in the door.

"Yerik, I need the first aid kit."

With a nod the Russian left the room and started down the stairs to the main level and the car.

"Who is that Storm?" Matty asked, nervous. He didn't want anyone else involved and he really didn't want anyone around when he told Storm about her cousin and friend.

"Vanya's son." Storm answered absentmindedly as she started to rip Taylor's white shirt away from his arm and side as gently as she could. "You have bad luck with getting shot in this arm, don'tcha?"

"Vanya?" Matty questioned, left in the dark about Storm's connection to the Russians.

"The man I work for. He's fine Matty. Same business as dad, different country and family."

"Well yeah, he's Russian. You're working for the Russians? Jesus Storm. This gets better and better." Matty pressed a hand to his forehead.

"I've been with them for years Matty so chill out. What happened in Montana?"

Yerik returned with the first aid kit. Matty refused to tell Storm anything until she was done caring for Taylor. He watched, almost jealous, as he watched her touch him so gently, show so much concern for how he felt. He used to be the only man his sister cared for like that. When she was done he left Taylor in the care of Yerik and took his sister outside, behind the motel and told her about Chris and Marbles.

Matty, no matter how close he was to breaking down had to be strong for another few minutes and he knew it. He knew it very well as he caught a sobbing, close to hysterical Storm in his arms. She was so calm, collected and able to seemingly handle anything most of the time he forgot she was only twenty and for everything she had had to deal with there was a lot she never had to experience. And one of those things was loosing someone she was very close to. The last person she'd truly lost like that had been Bobby and she'd only been eight when he'd died. Too young to feel the depth of emotion she did over the loss of Chris and Marbles.

"I'll kill them all Matty. I swear to god I'm going to kill them all."

"We already did Storm. There's no one left. Just me and Taylor. Everyone else is dead."

"God Matty, I feel so useless. Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you tell me about this? You shoulda called me long before Teddy ever involved himself. I coulda got the money back before it ever went this far." Storm threw herself at her brother kicking and screaming. She was irate, out of her mind with fury and she had no one to take it out on. Matty was the closest target. "I told you to stay out. God damn it I told you! I told you to move! Stay out. Taylor told you, I told you, Dad told you but you just couldn't listen!" She quickly stopped when Matty didn't make any move to protect himself from her wrath. It was clear he was punishing himself enough.

Before she could hit her knees in the desert sand a strong arm went around her waist. As she felt herself pulled against something she knew instinctively was Taylor she spun around and grabbed on to him for dear life, trying to keep her wits.

"Come on 'Ella. You fixed me up enough for us to all go up to the room, get some sleep and make an early start of it tomorrow. Come on, this isn't helping anything and nothing can bring them back." Taylor led the now quiet Storm up to the room, Matty and the Russian man following behind.

They all went to bed exhausted. The next day they drove to Yerik's plane and flew into New York City. Storm took proper care of Taylor's arm, heavily bandaging it before she would consent to let him out of her sight.

Matty found her alone a short while later. "You were right about one thing Storm."

"What's that Matty?" Storm asked tiredly.

"I'm out. I'm done. I'm telling pop today when I give him his money back. I don't want anything else to do with his world, his money or his life. I wish you'd reconsider moving with me some place where this isn't us."

"I can't Matty. Not now. Don't you see? You don't belong here in this world but pop needs somebody. Especially now, he lost Teddy, you and so much else in one go. He needs to be told about Chris and Marbles. Someone has to tell Uncle Sal and Aunt Eva. That will fall to pop and he'll need me. I'll be ok."

Matty nodded like he agreed. Storm only wished she was half as sure of herself as her brother seemed to be. She'd lost her respect for her father, lost her cousin and friend and almost lost both her brother and lover. Nothing was ok with her world and she was once again tossed into the turmoil of wondering if it ever would be ok again. She only knew one thing with any certainty. The next few days were going to test everything she was made of.


	14. La morte mi troverà vivo

**Velocity Shift**

By – _TempestRaces_

Chapter 13 - **La morte mi troverà vivo**

or

_**Death Will Find Me Alive**_

The morning of Chris Scarpa's funeral dawned under slate grey clouds and Storm, for one, was glad. She wouldn't have had the day she laid her cousin to rest any other way. If it hadn't been cloudy, if rain hadn't been threatening to fall she would have felt as though the weather had personally slapped her in the face. If the day she buried her closest cousin and brother's best friend had been sunny she would have felt like God, via the weather, was telling her that her cousin had deserved to die. And so she was glad the weather was dark. The whole city deserved to be sad. The whole country deserved to be desolate. Everyone in the state of Montana deserved to feel the depth of sorrow that she and her brother felt. Every last red neck, farming hick in the whole state deserved to die for taking her cousin and friend away. Nothing anyone said to her would make her change her mind about feeling that way.

They'd made her break a promise, those people in Montana and her uncle and his crew. She never broke her promises. If she gave one it was because she fully intended to follow through with it. She took her promises seriously. If her answer was maybe she wouldn't promise. In her world she knew if you told someone something would get done they had to be able to take your word that it would happen. She'd made a promise that the whole group would get together again soon. That it would be just like old times. Now it would never be like old times again. She'd promised Johnny…

She wouldn't allow herself to even think of Johnny Marbles' final arrangements scheduled for the next day. If she did she would simply crawl back under her covers and never get up again. Two men she'd known so long she couldn't remember a time without one and could barely remember a time without the other and now both were gone.

If Matty and Taylor hadn't taken out Teddy, Clueless, and Frank the Watch Storm knew she would have. Over and over she would have shot them and she would have relished every minute of it. Every time a bullet tore into their flesh she would have laughed, each time their blood was spilled she would have grinned, taken her satisfaction. And that wouldn't have been enough for that overconfident sheriff. She would have tied him up and tortured him until he begged for mercy. And then she would have tortured him more. She would never have showed him mercy. Never! He had planned on killing her brother, her cousin, her Taylor. She felt the need to avenge her cousin and friend rising in her, rage was filling her soul with its blood red grip. She wanted to take it out on something, someone, but there was nothing left. Everyone save Taylor and Matty had ended up dead.

Only Matty and Taylor had made it back from what was supposed to be a 'simple fuckin' run'. Some things were just never that simple. Teddy's words, told to her so many times before echoed in her head. "_Some situations aren't manageable_."

_God damn Teddy to hell!_ Storm roared in her head, unwilling to outwardly show signs of how shaken she was. If he wasn't burning in the pits of hell for what he'd done then Storm knew she'd never believe in god again. If anyone deserved to be denied entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven it was Teddy Deserve. Catholic or no, if all it took to overcome such a grievous sin was to ask forgiveness for it then Storm could only surmise the system for passing judgement on the dead was flawed.

_He tried to kill Matty! _She thought to herself in incredulous anger. _Fuckin idiot! Doesn't he know no one messes with my brother! If he wasn't dead then I'd kill him where he stood. _ There was a distinction in the business. You killed people the boss sent you to kill. You killed people who crossed you. You killed people who tried to kill you. You didn't kill your family. That was a line you didn't cross. It didn't matter who you were. If one of your own had to die you got your boss's permission or you had someone from outside take care of it.

Storm and Matty had many uncles, but most of them were no real relation. That was the term they'd grown up using for all of their father's close associates. Teddy was a blood uncle, born of the same mother and father as their mother. What right did he have to try and kill his nephew over something Matty didn't even have any control over and didn't want anyway? If their father had died at any time Matty would have handed the whole operation over to Teddy without question. He didn't want to be the boss. He just wanted a job. It wasn't fair!

Teddy was dead, and that was a big part of the issue Storm knew. She would never get to yell at her uncle for what he'd done. Would never get to shoot him as he'd tried to shoot Matty and had managed to shoot Taylor. Matty had been the one to pump him full of lead and Matty hadn't even enjoyed the act, not like Storm knew she would have.

Her brother had barely spoken to anyone since he'd had his meeting with their father in the office of the hall. Storm knew he'd told the old man he was finished with the business, killing any lingering hope Benny had of taking his son into 'the family' with him. The books were open but there was no one to make. Matty was out, finally and forever, like it always should have been.

With a groan Storm tossed her blankets back and got out of her bed. She walked into the bathroom and got into the shower, carefully avoiding seeing the mirror. She didn't want to see how horrible she looked. As the hot spray soaked her hair and trickled down her back she closed her eyes and sighed as she let the water course over her face and shoulders. She needed a good lightening show complete with rain and thunder she could stand in. It would help to take away her memories, help to cleanse her soul. She leaned her head against the cool tiles and let the water pour down on her back.

Why Chris? Why Marbles? Why did it have to be her friends? It wasn't fair. Nothing had been right or fair in her life in so long she was beginning to wonder why she was surprised by the fact now. As the hot water ran down through her hair from the crown of her head, down over her face and into her eyelashes she let herself cry for the first time since she'd been told about her cousin and friend. She had forced herself to show nothing but stony calm to the world. She knew her brother needed her to be strong for him. But now, alone, she let out her grief over the loss of two of her closest friends. She didn't exactly have that many close friends and she was really feeling the loss of two. She pounded the wall in front of her with a closed fist as her mouth opened in a silent scream of agony. Sliding down the wall she sat on the floor of the tub and let the hot water pour down on her as steam billowed around the room, filling the shower stall and fogging the mirror. Why? She rapped her arms around her legs and bowed her head to her knees and cried for her cousin, for her friend, for her brother, and for herself.

Matty had killed his uncle. Didn't matter if Teddy had it coming or not, Matty was having a very hard time dealing with it. Storm knew that she had to be the one who dealt with it matter of factly. That didn't make it easy. She got out of the shower after she figured she'd be able to keep herself together. After doing her hair up on top of her head in a restrained style that hid both the colour and curls from the world she left the bathroom and started to think about getting dressed. She didn't think either golden, sunny blond or perky curls were appropriate for a funeral. She didn't feel sunny or perky.

After dressing in a knit black sweater and an a line black knee length skirt she tossed her leather trench coat over her arm and headed to her brother's room. He never answered her knock on his door but that didn't stop her, she pushed her way into his room anyway. She found him still in bed, his eyes red and puffy as he snored, still asleep. All Matty wanted to do since coming home from Wibaux was sleep. It wasn't healthy and Storm knew he'd have to get on with his life some time.

She sat on the side of the bed, beside her brother's sleeping form and gently brushed some of his hair back off his forehead. His hair was getting long, Storm mused. It was normally hard to tell as he gelled it back in an old school slicked back hairdo but he'd clearly not bothered doing anything with it after his last shower and it was free to fall into his face. As she looked at Matty sleeping so peacefully, her rage started to come back. This was her brother. Her gentle, sweet brother who had never done anything to anyone. Hell, he hadn't even known how to use a gun until he'd forced Taylor to show him in Montana. Why was he the one being forced to suffer? All because the world was a bigoted place to live and no one would believe he was just one of the nice guys, looking for a job, looking to be an innocence citizen. That he wasn't one of the 'goodfellas'.

"Ok Matty D, time to get up." Storm said as she shook Matty's shoulder.

"What?" He grumbled sleepily.

"Ya heard me babe, time to get up."

"I don't want to get up yet Stormi," Matty said sleepily in a tone reminding Storm of how he'd talked to her when he was twelve. Then he sighed and rolled over so he was facing away from his sister. "Let me sleep a bit longer. Come back for me later."

"Nope. You gotta get up Matty. We gotta do this thing and then we can start to get back to normal."

"I don't want to get up yet. Come back later and wake me up then."

"Nope. You gotta get up now." Storm stood up and then tore the blankets back off her brother. "Up!"

"Storm, Jesus Christ!" Matty roared, sitting up. "I said I didn't want to get up!"

"And I said you are anyway. So get the fuck outta bed. Do I need to pick out your clothes too, or can you manage that part?" She was intentionally harsh, hoping to shock her brother into anger, knowing anger was better for the moment then sadness.

"Why are you being such a pushy bitch?" Matty growled at his sister. "Besides, what if I hadn't had anything on under here?"

"You never sleep like that and if you were I just wouldn'ta looked. Now get up before I forget I love you and take exception to being called a bitch."

"I'm not a kid! I'm 24 years old and if I don't want to get up then I don't need my barely 20 year old sister telling me I have to."

"Someone has to act like the adult here Mathew James Demaret and if it ain't gonna be you then I guess it has to be me. Like it always has to be me." Storm sighed. She didn't want to remind Matty of the next part. "You told Uncle Sal you'd say something for Chris, Matty."

Matty covered his face in his hands and Storm watched as his shoulders shook. He seemed to get it together after a minute. "Ok, I'll get up and get ready."

"Good. I'll be around so let me know when you're ready ok?"

"Sure."

Storm left the room, knowing her brother well enough to know that once he'd given her his word he'd get up and get ready he would. She went back to her room and dialled the number that would connect her to Taylor Reese. The phone rang repeatedly but he never answered. _Where the hell could he be?_ Storm asked herself as she hung up. Surely he knew he had to come to the funeral with them. He had been a friend to Chris for a long time, and he had to go.

He was no doubt sitting in his place not answering any of his calls. That tore it. Storm was sick to death of being the one to make all the men in her life do the adult thing. If she and Matty had to go to the funeral then Taylor did too. He wasn't getting out of it. She strode down the stairs and pulled her coat on at the door.

"Where you goin?" Benny asked her from the door to the living room.

"Out." Storm answered vaguely and looked up at her father.

His face was drawn. His eyes had black circles under them and to Storm he looked years older now than he had a mere week earlier. Losing Teddy had been a real blow to the old man. They had been partners for a very long time. Benny had always been the boss but he'd looked to Teddy for advice, wisdom, and to handle all the things that needed handling. Teddy had been his consigliere. In English it meant councilman and that had been Teddy's job. The man in charge of advising, mediating and handling all the disputes among the lower men of the business so the boss could worry about other things. Storm knew her father had trusted Teddy implicitly and had come to find out he'd been putting his trust in someone who'd been betraying it. Not to mention that someone had been his brother in law, uncle to his children, and his most trusted advisor. Storm realized it had to be hitting her father hard. Then when you factored in Chris's death and how it had been Benny who'd had to break the news of their son's death to Sal and Eve Scarpa she knew the whole situation was hitting her father just as hard if not harder then it was her. She decided to take pity on her father. Their issues looked small compared to the current big picture.

"I'll be back soon pop. I got Matty up and getting ready so just make sure he's ready to go by the time I get back. It's only nine now so if I'm home by ten and he's ready to go than we'll have lots of time."

"Ok. Just be careful Storm."

She nodded and left the house. She climbed into her Cadillac, knowing that she would also be the one who ended up driving the Demaret family to the service and gravesite. Her car was still in Miami but even if it wasn't, it wouldn't be appropriate for the job. Her father rarely drove, Matty wouldn't and there was no one else left. They could take the limo she figured, but that was more ostentatious then she wanted to be. She drove efficiently through the early morning streets of New York and made good time getting to Taylor's house. She tuned the radio to the local variety station and let the music fade into the background. Until a song started with a strange combination of instruments that caught her attention she hadn't even really realized the radio was on. She listened and the lyrics caught her attention.

_So kid, don't mourn take your life back_

_Carpe Diem and all that_

_What really matters today is today see_

_The more you live the happier I'll be_

_Ya'd better take your time and shine_

_Everybody gotta learn sometimes_

_That there's no goodbyes cause after every night fall a new sun will rise_

She could hear her cousin saying that to her. He wouldn't want them to cry for him. He'd want them to carry on with their lives and remember him fondly. He'd want her to carry on, try to make something of herself. Try to seize the day. He was too much a party child to want anyone to sit around and cry for him. He'd want them to remember the good times, so Storm resolved to try.

Parking behind Taylor's van she cut the engine and carefully got out of the car. She wasn't use to moving around in a skirt and it was a trial to preserve her modesty by times. She entered the building and climbed all the stairs up to Taylor's apartment door. She knocked and waited. No noise could be heard inside the house, and no one came to the door. She pounded louder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Miss." A kindly looking older Italian woman said from behind Storm. She was carrying several bags of groceries and it looked like she was headed back to her own place.

"Why?" Storm asked as she pounded on the door again.

"The man who lives in that one has a wicked temper and he came home in the worst mood any of us have ever seen him in the other day. He hasn't left his place since."

"I appreciate the warning but I'll be ok with him. I've known him since I was eight." Storm pounded the door again.

"You're one of 'them' then aren't you? One of the people he works for." The woman looked slightly afraid of Storm when she made her assumption.

"Naw, just a friend. A very good friend." Storm winked.

"You mean he finally has a girl?" The older woman grinned. "We've all wondered. I mean, we know what he does for a living but he's so good to the folks in this building. We wouldn't feel safe opening our doors if we didn't have Taylor living in the building. He makes sure that everyone knows we're under his protection and that of Mr. Chains."

"His name is actually Mr. Demaret."

"Who's is sweetheart?"

"The man who Taylor works for, who he would have arranged to have protect the building. 'Chains' is a nickname. His real name is Benny Demaret."

"How's a nice girl like you know that?"

"His son is a friend of mine." Storm looked at the woman and the woman looked back, not buying it for a heartbeat. "Ok, and he's also my brother. Benny is my dad."

"So you are one of them then."

"I was born that way but I'm not one of them."

"Of course not, you're a girl." The woman finished up like that explained everything and then started to unlock the door across the hall. "Well, good luck with your young man. You'll need it. If you need help just holler and I'll call the cops. Not that they'll do much for you against _him_."

Storm watched the lady go into her place and then heard the door lock. She tossed up her hands in frustration. Taylor wasn't ever going to come open his door and she wasn't about to start screaming at him from the hallway. She pulled a pin out of her hair and went to work on the lock. She was glad to find that Taylor hadn't changed anything since the last time she broke into his place and she got in without much difficulty.

All the curtains were drawn and the place was quiet and dark inside. There were a pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and Storm sniffed the air. She wrinkled her nose. His milk was gone off. The other time's she'd been in Taylor's apartment it had been so clean she'd actually wondered if he had a cleaning lady. From what she knew of how her father and brother kept house men were not capable of keeping a place as clean as Taylor did on their own. He'd really let the place go, or he'd dismissed his cleaning lady. She headed back through the house toward the bedroom in the back.

The room was equally untidy to match the rest of the house. Taylor was in his bed asleep. Storm sighed. What was it with men and sleeping when they were upset? First Matty and now Taylor. She hadn't heard from him since they'd gotten back to the city so she'd be willing to bet he'd been doing nothing but sleep since he'd gotten back too. Of course he'd been wounded so he had an excuse. But not now, not when it was time to pay his last respects to a good friend.

Storm strode over to the windows and tossed the curtains back with a flourish. Taylor groaned and pulled his blankets over his head, all without waking up. _Great! He's going to be difficult too. _Storm walked over to the side of his bed and tossed his blankets back. He was facing her curled up in the foetal position on his bed. When the light hit his face and the chilled apartment air hit his bare skin he woke to glare at Storm with sleepy black eyes.

"What are you doin here?" He growled.

"You ain't answerin your phone and I ain't heard from you in days. I'm just checkin to see if there was any strange smells comin outta this place or not."

"I'm fine. You can go now."

"Nope, sorry. No such luck my friend. You got places to be. Get up." Storm stood with her hands on her hips staring down at Taylor.

"Who's gonna make me? You?"

"If you want to take it that far, yeah, I'll make you. Get up Taylor." Storm closed her eyes and wished for patience. "I already had this fight with my brother today. Can you save me the headache and not make me repeat it?"

"If you're trying to get me to go to the funeral you can save yourself the headache. I'm not goin."

"Yeah, you are."

"He wasn't my cousin. Your family and me have totally different religions. I am not going."

"He was your friend, you were there when he died and it hardly matters that we think Jesus came and you're still waiting for him. It's not about religion. It's about the fact that Chris was all of our friend and we owe it to him to say our final good-byes. He came back when someone had a gun to your head if Matty tells me correctly and if he hadn't come back things coulda gone a different way for you. Now get up!" Storm's voice slowly rose from a low anger to a shrill call.

"No. I'm not going."

"Yes you are." Storm said, her face composed into a firm look of resignation. "You are going to get up, get dressed and come with me right now."

"No I'm not. I don't want to go and you can't make me." Taylor sounded much like a spoiled, petulant child. "You can leave any time you want to." Taylor reached down, grabbed a hold of his blankets and pulled them back up over his head. Storm left the room. She went into his kitchen and ran the cold water. When the water was as cold as it was going to get she filled the biggest glass she could find with the icy liquid and stalked back into Taylor's room on quiet feet.

He had his back to her, sheets and blankets pulled back up around his head. She crossed to the side of his bed, never making a sound and quickly pulled the sheets and blankets off the bed again. Before he could do much more then look up at her she up ended the glass of water over Taylor, most of it hitting his head but some of it splashing down over his bare shoulder and running in rivulets down his chest and back, soaking his bed. As Storm set the glass down on his nightstand he jumped out of bed with an irate roar. She was too irate and sad to even find the sight of him soaked and indignant funny.

"Well, since you're up anyway you may as well get dressed and come with me."

"Who do you think you are?" Taylor growled as he stalked up to Storm with murder in his walk. She didn't retreat or look intimidated, merely stood her ground and watched his approach through reproachful green eyes.

"The sister of your best friend, the cousin of your dead friend." She looked up into Taylor's eyes and met his gaze. She could see the first two things she'd tossed at him hadn't changed his mind. "And the woman who needs you at her side to get through this thing. I thought what we had wasn't just a 'thing'. You told me that."

Taylor looked away, breaking their eye contact as he rubbed his bald head. "Jesus Storm. Do you know how much I don't want to go to this? Do you even comprehend at all how much I just don't want to go?"

"Do you comprehend how very much I don't want my cousin and friend to be dead? Taylor, I can't bring him back. I can't make Matty better again. Every time I'm in my club I'm gonna catch myself looking around, waiting on Chris to walk in but he never will again. He's gone and I can't bring him back." Storm looked up at Taylor and waited for him to meet her eyes again. He did, feeling her eyes on his face. "I really don't know if I can do this without you Taylor, and I have to do it. I have to be strong for dad, for Matty, for my aunt and uncle who lost their child, for everyone. And then I have to go do it all again tomorrow. Can't you please come and be strong for me while I'm being strong for everyone else? Please? I need you with me Taylor. There's no one else."

A tear ran down her cheek as Taylor watched her stand there. She'd laid her feelings bare to him and he knew how much it would have cost her. She didn't admit to needing help or needing anyone very often, but she'd just told him she needed him. He couldn't turn her down. He watched another tear roll down her cheek. He couldn't take any more of her tears. He'd watched men beg him for their lives, over and over again. It hadn't affected him one way or the other in any sense. He still killed them in the end, still beat them into the ground or shot them, whatever he had to do. So why, when all those men pleading with him did he feel nothing, but when this woman cried, two simple tears with no accompanying begging or pleading at all, did he want to give her whatever she wanted, what ever would make her stop crying.

He took her into his arms and wrapped them around her back as he felt her arms reach out and settle around his waist. He leaned his cheek on the top of the silky pile of her hair. He felt her shoulders shake as she fought not to give way to total hysterics. "I'll come Storm. I'm sorry. Of course I'll come 'Ella. Just please don't cry. I shoulda been there for you instead of hiding in here."

"I'm not crying." Storm said, her voice muffled into Taylor's chest.

"Of course you're not. Go wait in the other room and I'll get dressed. I don't know in what, but I'll get ready." Taylor released Storm and she turned away.

Storm a walked over to the dresser against Taylor's wall and picked out a light knit sweater. She set it on a dry part of his bed and went to his closet. She picked out a pair of black slacks and set them beside the sweater. "That'll be fine. I'll wait by the door for you." She turned away and left the room. A few minutes later Taylor joined her by the door. "You ready?" She asked.

"I guess so. So what happens now?"

"We go get Matty and my father, then we go to the ceremony."

"Ok then." Taylor opened the door and held his arm out for Storm to precede him out the open path. He followed her and locked the door. He paused in the hall and shrugged his leather jacket on, his still bandaged and stiff arm making the movement awkward. He followed Storm down the stairs and go into the shotgun seat of the Cadillac.

They drove silently back to the Demaret house and pulled up to the door. Taylor moved to get out of the car. "You can just wait here," Storm told him.

"I'll wait in the car but I'll ride in the back with Matty. Your dad can have the front."

"No way. You ride with me. Dad'll be just as happy in the back."

"It's only right that I let your father have the front Storm."

"Right doesn't matter to me today Taylor. I want you beside me so you ride in the front. I'll just go get them."

Taylor nodded his ok, against his better judgment and Storm moved to get out. Before she could get one leg out of the car the front door of the house opened and Benny and Matty walked out. Both were dressed in black suits with blue ties. "I'm very under dressed for this Storm."

"You're fine. Stop worrying. No one is going to notice what you're wearing Taylor."

Benny and Matty slid into the back seat. "I thought you weren't coming." Matty said to Taylor as he got into the car behind his sister.

"I wasn't going to but a higher power convinced me I should."

"Good. He'd want you there." Matty said as he sat back into the leather seat of the Cadillac and shoved his sunglasses onto his nose.

Taylor nodded.

"How are you Taylor? Is your shoulder bothering you?"

"No sir, Mr. Demaret. It's doing much better. I'm sorry for your loss." Taylor said to the Demaret sibling's father politely. No matter what he said about who he was, he knew his proper manners.

"Thank you son. I'm glad to know you were there with my son. I'm very grateful for what you did for him."

Matty unobtrusively hit his father in the thigh. He didn't want the old man reminding Storm of what Teddy had tried to do.

"He'd do the same for me sir." Taylor replied modestly.

Storm put the car in gear and drove down the driveway slowly. She pointed the black land yacht in the direction of the church where Chris was to be laid to rest. St. Dominic Cathedral was in the heart of Brooklyn. Where Chris and his parents had lived.

When they arrived they parked in the reserved parking lot with the other family vehicles and entered the church. Matty and Benny walked in first, followed by Storm and Taylor. Taylor solicitously held onto Storm's elbow, attempting to be a source of strength for her to call on if she had the need. She'd been hiding inside an icy calm shell since they'd left his apartment.

They followed Benny and Matty to the front of the church. "I should go sit at the back Storm. It isn't right for me to be up here with you."

"Taylor I told you, in this case you're family and it ain't cause a us bein' together neither. You've known Chris and Matty since you were all like what, eight?"

"Seven."

"There ya go. So you're gonna sit with me and look sad like the rest of us."

"Alright." Taylor gave in with a sigh.

They took seats in the pew just behind Sal and Eva Scarpa. Benny leaned over to pat his cousin on the shoulder. While his kids called them aunt and uncle they weren't really that closely related by blood, just by relationships. Sal and Eva both stood up, turning to face the Demaret family. They took in the shattered look on Matty's face and promptly hugged him in turn. Matty returned the gesture tightly.

When they moved on to look at Storm and took in the detached look of calm they shared a worried glance with each other. The way they knew their niece she should be spitting, cussing and clawing with anger. Not composed and looking like she was totally bereft of emotion. Eva quickly hugged her niece. "How you holding up Stormianna?"

"As well as can be expected Eva. What about you? Are you ok?"

"About as well as can be expected." She echoed Storm's statement with a tight smile. "I miss him so much already."

"Me too." Storm admitted. Taylor moved to stand just a bit closer to her.

Eva turned to Taylor. "I'm glad you came. Chris would have wanted you here."

"We'll all miss him very much Ma'am." Taylor offered. "I'm sorry for your loss. I wish there was more I coulda done but you should know that Chris was a hero. If not for him me'n Matty might not be here."

"I'm glad to know that if he had to die it was for a good reason, protecting his cousin and friends." Sal broke into the conversation. "Still can't say I wouldn't willingly buy every pretty girl in Brooklyn a free dinner just to have my son back." He took a moment to compose himself before looking back up at his relatives.

"I want you to know Sal, that if there is anything, and I mean anything we can do for you and your family you only have to ask." Benny broke in. "The family is here for you." It was clear Benny meant more than the Demaret clan, but rather the whole 'family' of the mafia. He pressed an envelope of money into Sal's hand.

It was a tradition when a made man died for the other family members to give money. Even though Chris hadn't been made, his father was a wiseguy, even if he couldn't actively be known as one. The family would still take care of its own.

"Thank you Benny. I want you to know how sorry I was to hear about Teddy."

"Well, thanks. His loss will be felt by the family for some time to come." Benny admitted. The loss of his advisor and trusted friend wasn't something he would recover from overnight.

"Too bad he was a god damn traitor." Storm bit out.

Before her father could open his mouth to berate her Taylor leaned over, pulling her against him with an arm around her waist. "This isn't the place Storm." She shot him a death glare but fell silent. Benny looked on with interest but refrained from comment. They all sat down to await the start of the ceremony.

Storm fought the need to pick at her fingernails as she sat on the hard wooden pew with Taylor's thigh pressed against the side of her own. It figured they all would have been born catholic, she thought cynically. Her cousin was dead already. The last thing he would have wanted was a long, boring service. She almost got up and told them all so, but then the priest called for Matty, or Mathew as they called him in an attempt to be formal, to come forward to deliver the eulogy. Matty got up and buttoned his suit jacket nervously.

He started for the front of the church slowly. It was clear to Storm, who knew him so well, that he was fighting a loosing battle against crying. It worried her in some respects that she didn't feel much at all other than as small measure of sympathy for Matty and his predicament and lingering anger over Teddy and what he'd done. She was almost bored, truth told. Thus the urge to pick at her nails. She started to do so, unable to help herself in her lassitude.

When Taylor noticed what she was doing he nudged her with his knee. She looked up with an irate frown. He made a wide eyed look at her hands. She sat on them with a sigh and watched as her brother finally took the podium.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming." Matty began before clearing his throat. "We're here today, as the good father already pointed out to celebrate the final sacrament in the life of my cousin Christopher Scarpa. I said I'd say a few words about my cousin today in his memory." Matty coughed self consciously again and fidgeted with his tie, fighting his loosing battle against breaking down.

"Chris wasn't only my cousin, he was one of my best friends. We played together as kids and hung out together as teens. I guess it's debatable whether or not we ever became adults. I'm sure my sister would tell you the answer was no, seeing as how Chris never could leave her alone for any length of time. It's a good thing she had a soft spot for him I guess." Everyone chuckled softly, many of the people present being family and well aware of Storm's temper. "Thing is now Chris'll never get a chance to see if he ever would have grown up." With those words Matty lost his composure and began to cry.

Taylor looked at his friend helplessly, unsure what to do. Benny hung his head, unable to see his son in so much distress.

Storm seemed to be the only one not frozen to her seat. When it became clear Matty wasn't going to recover from his breakdown she got up out of her seat and started for the alter of the church. When she reached Matty's side she gently sent him back to his seat. He went with a hug followed by a grateful look. Storm stood behind the podium provided and looked out at all the faces filling the pews of the church.

"Wow, I can't think of any time I saw St. Dominic's this full." Storm started. "I'm saddened by the reason why, and I'm sure the good father is too. Chris, who is likely trying not to come back and haunt my brother for admitting his full name is, in fact Christopher, would be glad to know he had so many friends." Storm took a moment to look down at the oak surface of the podium, wishing she'd anticipated Matty's breakdown and taken a few moments to prepare something to say.

"I know one thing for a fact, as anyone could see by looking around this church, the ladies of New York lost a favourite when they lost my cousin. Chris was always a ladies man, but they loved him so nobody could ever even hold the fact he was a player against him.

"He knew how to have a good time. He was always in a good mood and he tried to keep a realistic outlook in every situation without falling in for the doom and gloom mentality so many people fall into in this day and age. He was always trying to convince me to forget we were related, only distantly as he was always reminding me even though he knew full well his mom and dad were my aunt and uncle no matter if blood made us that way or not, and go someplace with him on a real date. But that was just how Chris was. I'm sure many of the beautiful faces filling this church could join me in attesting to that.

"We always made quite a crew as kids I'm sure. The four boys doing boy things and Matty's tomboy sister tagging along to do them too. The tomboy is me, for those of you not initiated into the Demaret, Scarpa connection. But we were always there for each other and that went double for Chris. He'd stand up for any of his friends and in the end that is what got him killed. But he died as a hero, defending his friends. I've heard some shi-" She paused, remembering where she was. "Stuff, rumours about how Chris died. It's all just that, rumours. He died as he lived, standing up for his friends, namely my brother, his cousin. Anyone who says different'll have me to answer to.

"Not that Chris would even appreciate that. He never wanted a violent lifestyle for himself. He was a lover, not a fighter." Storm smiled, unable to help herself. "And crazy, and sometimes foolish in that playful way. I know I'll miss him, just like I know Matty will too. Not to mention Uncle Sal, who I know would gladly buy every last pretty girl in Brooklyn dinner just to watch Chris grin while he tried to charm his way out of it again. But in the end he'd likely manage to charm his way right back into his father's good graces anyway because the boy could be so slick when he wanted to be I swear he could sell ice to Eskimos. In fact the last time I ever saw Chris he was trying to con me into going someplace I didn't want to go with him. I was tired and I didn't go but he had me almost convinced. Mighta managed too, if I didn't think the boys needed some time on their own to just be boys. That was just how my cousin was. You hated to say no to him, hated to do anything to take the smile off his face.

"A lot of yous know that me'n my brother didn't have it so easy as kids." Storm didn't come right out and say 'what with our pops in jail and all' but almost everyone knew it was what she was getting at. "But our family took carea us, and that included the Scarpas. I heard a song in the car today that I never heard before and it made me think about what Chris would say to me if he knew he was gonna die and had that one chance to gimme a message before it happened. It was just uncanny how like something Chris would say it sounded. It went something like 'in every life first the sun then the night falls. We're all on borrowed time, never say good-bye. Take your time live your life like its last call. Don't wanna see you cry cause we'll never say good-bye.' So I won't cry because Chris wouldn't want me to. He'd want me to carry on, party twice as hard, have twice as much fun, and live for him.

"After every night a new sun rises, sometimes it's behind the clouds. For the next while the sun of this family will be hidden but I'm going to live my life like its last call because this has shown me that someday, for the horrible sin of defending your friends it could be. But to Chris I don't say good-bye, I say _Quandu si las 'a vecchia p'a nova, sabe che lasa ma non sabe che trova._"

Storm saw her aunt Eva begin to cry in earnest when the Italian proverb flowed off her tongue gracefully like water over a fall. She saw that many were confused by her words spoken in an unfamiliar tongue. Even Matty had never been as proficient as she with any words said in their native tongue which didn't translate into words to make good girls blush.

"And that means 'when you leave the old for the new, you know what you are leaving but not what you will find'. I know this is just another adventure for Chris, sad for us to have lost him, sad for him to see us mourning his loss, but yet a beginning for him too. After all, _ Meglio un giorno da leone che cento da pecora._"

With that Storm left the podium. When she went to pass the pew her aunt and uncle were sitting in her aunt stood at the end and hugged her, tears marking her silent grief. "Grazi, Storm, grazi."

Storm finally took her seat beside the silent Taylor again and sighed. Taylor looked down at the top of her head.

"What was that last thing you said?" He asked, unable to control his curiosity.

"An old proverb. It means, it is better to live one day as a lion than a hundred as a sheep."

"Thanks sis." Matty leaned over and put an arm around his sister's shoulders.

"I wish I didn't have to do it." Storm answered.

"We all wish he was still alive sis."

"I know."

They sat silently through the rest of the ceremony then moved outside the church. Taylor stayed awkwardly at Storm's side, despite being in a circle of her family and her father's friends and associates. It was unnerving but he stuck it out.

"I'm proud of you kid." Benny said as he walked up to his daughter. "I know it meant a lot to Eva and Sal that someone said so many nice things for Chris."

"He was one of my best friends. I meant every word."

"I know." Benny held up his hands to show he wasn't looking for a fight. "It was just that you handled it, yourself, really well. I was proud of how well you handled it is all."

"Thanks dad."

They broke up then to follow the hearse to the gravesite to put Chris into his final resting spot. As they stood beside the grave, the day still as slate grey as when they'd started the ordeal, Taylor leaned over to whisper to Storm. "You doin' ok?"

"I'ma be ok." Storm answered in hushed tones.

The way she never lost the stone faced calm demeanour was starting to worry Taylor. She was so different since everything had gone down. It only remained to be seen if she ever came back around.


	15. Mercury Mess

**Velocity Shift**

By _TempestRaces_

Chapter 14 – **Mercury Mess**

Taylor watched with growing concern as Storm continued to interact with her relatives with an insincere smile pasted on her mouth at the reception after the graveside service. The smile never reached her eyes. Not even when she was dealing with some of her cousins he happened to know she liked as a general rule. She was taking the funeral really hard. She'd been strangely needy in his apartment but no more. She was once again totally in control of herself. A little too in control to suit him.

The Storm he knew couldn't keep her temper in check this long, couldn't keep her smart mouth hidden this long either. She hadn't, to Taylor's recent memory, ever gone this long without someone pissing her off or without managing to piss off someone else. Be it him, her father, some random stranger, normally she and somebody clashed every couple hours. In a room full of her relatives it shouldn't have taken long for one or the other to occur.

The people who said things she didn't want to hear merely got treated full force to her icy green stare. Of course that alone was enough to send most people running for cover. It was amusing to Taylor, in a frightening way, that when she launched fire their way people fought back but when she gave them that icy stare with her eyes like chips of frozen jade they all simply turned tail and ran. As he was observing her from the refreshment table he caught sight of Matty moving his way from across the room.

"Why are you standing here all alone?" Matty asked as he picked up an hors d'ouvres from the table and washed it down with a glass of wine he drained in one go. He didn't look as together as his sister; his tie was askew, his hair mussed, and his suit wrinkled. His eyes were vague and slightly spaced out. In short, he looked like shit, but his reaction seemed a hell of a lot more real and healthy to Taylor than Storm's. He watched as Matty picked up another glass of wine. Taylor wanted a drink himself, but there was no beer present and he didn't want wine.

"I'm keepin' an eye on Storm. After her little outburst at the church I thought we were in for it but she's behind a wall of ice. She hasn't said a word wrong since. Of course, she hasn't said very much at all."

"A lot for her to take in lately." Matty sighed and tossed another small bit of food into his mouth. "I forget how young she is most of the time ya know? She acts so in control and so together most of the time. She hasn't had to deal with a lot of this shit. I can't think of anyone close to her that died since Bobby and she was just a kid then."

"She was close to Chris, that's for sure." Taylor said as his gaze slid back to the female in question. Plus she just found out her mother isn't dead after all. But Taylor couldn't share that with Matty, not when Matty didn't know.

"We all were. I almost wish she'd go back to having a screaming, crying fit instead of this ice queen thing she's got goin' on here." Matty watched as yet another old, Italian relative walked up to his sister and said something to her. He watched as she responded with what was expected of a woman her age, not what was expected of _her_.

. 

Storm accepted yet another distant relative's words of condolences with a polite inclination of her head an unintelligible murmur of acknowledgement. She wished they'd all go away, but she wasn't going to tell them that. It just wasn't that important. She figured something should be but nothing was standing out. Her relatives were bothering her, but it was a bother like a hangnail was a bother; mildly irritating but not important enough to bother ripping it off.

It simply didn't matter that much anymore. She leaned against the mantle of the fireplace with a glass of wine in her hand and looked at nothing. She simply let her mind drift off into nowhere and didn't think about anything. She existed in a foggy place where nothing mattered or figured into her life other than not thinking about anything at all.

That was until she saw her cousin Lindsey head her way. No matter how uncaring she was about the rest of the proceedings, listening to her cousin's ramblings was not high on her list of things to do today. Since for the most part Lindsey only cared about her looks, money, and boys, in that order, Storm really had nothing in common with her.

Well, that wasn't totally true. She had the boy they both wanted. But he was Storm's. She thought that if her cousin pissed her off, she'd simply throw in her face the reality of who Taylor had ultimately ended up with. That should go over really well, she was sure. She felt herself warming up for the clash just a bit.

Lindsey stopped in front of her and looked her up and down. "Hello Storm."

"Lindsey." Storm answered insolently, giving her cousin some of her own medicine in the form of a head to toe look. When she reached Lindsey's face from her feet she gave a little hrmp and smirked slightly. Lindsey's eyes showed she had caught the slight and had been annoyed by it.

"I haven't seen you in ages. What _have_ you been doing with yourself?" Lindsey asked in a snide tone. She was clearly implying the answer to her question was not much.

"Oh you know. Same old." Storm's smirk got bigger. "Doin' some racin', doin' some dancin', dealin a little X for the Russian mob," Storm met Lindsey's eyes cruelly for her next bombshell. "I've been sleeping with Taylor. A lot." Her smirk took on a gloating air.

"Taylor? Taylor Reese?"

"Taylor, 'oh Taylor' Reese, that's right." Storm rubbed it in farther crudely. "So, what have you been doing since the family found out your dad was fuckin' screwing mine, his own brother in law, over?"

Lindsey gasped. "How dare you! That's not true. My father was killed in the same accident Chris was."

"Yeah, right. I suppose Elvis is alive too, right?" Storm shook her head. "Your father was a fuckin' crook who was stealing off my pops. And when he tried to kill Matty, after he killed Chris, Matty took him out. But then, it always was Matty's job to take out the trash."

"How dare you!" Lindsey shrieked as she raised her hand to slap Storm. They were becoming something of a spectacle and Storm knew she should put an end to it sooner than later, but she knew she wasn't going to.

Storm caught her wrist. "You ever try to hit me again and it'll be the last thing you ever do, and that's a promise. You shouldn't even be here right now since your father gave the order for Chris to be shot." Storm let Lindsey go as if tossing away something vile and looked at her with a dismissive glare. "I think you were just going, right?"

Lindsey looked like she had more to say to her cousin. Storm pretty much wished she would. If someone gave her an excuse to have a good old knock down, drag out fight she'd take it with relish. At least the adrenaline would give her something to care about. Lindsey didn't back down, but she didn't push farther either. She stood in front of Storm, caught up in her indecision of what to do.

Taylor took the decision away from her. He decided it was time to make Storm take her leave, before she did something she likely would live to regret. He knew she could be driven to the heights of rage by Lindsey, but in the long run she wouldn't want to ruin the memory of Chris' memorial service for his parents. He reached her side, and didn't even spare Lindsey a glance.

"Storm, I think it's time to go." He said, his voice rendered even more raspy by his low tone.

"I don't think I'm ready to go." Storm said, looking up at Taylor from under her eyelashes.

"Well, I really am and it's getting late. I have to go to mom's for dinner and I thought you might want to come." He watched as shock registered in the green eyes he was holding with his own black gaze. The last thing she'd expected from him was an invite to his mother's house. In truth, the last thing he'd planned to offer had been the same.

His mother had been after him to introduce her to the girl he'd been seeing. There was very little he kept from his mother. Not that he didn't try to keep some things to himself, but she mostly saw right through it and weaseled what she wanted to know out of him. So, even though he'd tried to keep the fact he was seeing someone seriously from her, she'd forced the information out of him. However, he'd kept just who that someone was from her. He wasn't sure if she'd still be happy and pleased for him once she found out just who the girl was.

She wasn't hypocritical enough to want him to find a Jewish girl to date, having herself married an Italian man. She just wanted him to find love. But she hated the job he did and she knew for whom he worked. When she finally found out he was dating the boss's daughter she might stop being happy he had a girlfriend and start being upset. In her mind, he thought, dating Storm was just him getting even deeper into a world she already wished he wasn't part of. He wasn't even sure if she'd believe him when he told her that he wasn't dating Storm for her connections, but just for her.

"I need to go home first."

"I thought that'd be the case. That's why I wanna leave now."

"Ok, just lemme tell pops."

"Alright. I'm gonna go tell Matty we're takin' off."

"Meet you at the front door in five?"

"That works." Taylor slid a finger down her cheek, just to reassure her and help her piss her cousin off at the same time. She placed a hand flat on his chest for a second before she turned to go with a very sultry smile up at him. Even if she was just show boating for her cousin, that look went straight to his groin and settled there. His mom was wrong. If he had his way Storm would just be some random girl who had the ability to keep his interest and turn him on like no other. She wouldn't be the boss's daughter at all. This was getting complicated. He watched Storm walk toward her father, where the old man was talking to his cousins, Sal and Eva.

"So, you'n my cousin huh?" Lindsey asked. Her expression was pleasant, but her tone revealed her pique.

"Yeah." Taylor answered shortly, unwilling to get into it with Lindsey at a funeral reception.

"So I was too good for you to be with because of who my father was, but she's not? Since her dad's even more your boss than mine was that doesn't make sense. She musta moved fast."

"You weren't too good for me. I just knew any spawn of Teddy's was likely as slimy as he was and I knew better than to get involved." Taylor looked away to dismiss the woman who was busily trying to come up with a response to his insult. "I guess I just didn't want to be with someone who'd been around more than a Coney Island carousel. At least Storm has some class." With that, Taylor headed toward the front door to meet Storm, leaving Lindsey speechless in his wake.

Storm was standing by the front door when he got there. "Ya ready?" She asked.

"Yeah. You?"

"Oh yeah. The more space and time between me'n Lindsey the better. Let's go."

"How're Matty and your dad gettin' home?"

"Uncle Vito's gonna drive them later. We'll take my car now."

"Ok, but you gotta take me home for the van and I'll pick you up at your place, ok?"

"Yeah, sure. I hate the damn Caddy anyways."

They got into the black beast, Storm letting Taylor drive it. "What's not to like?" He asked as he started to move the Sedan De Ville down the driveway after moving the seat back to account for his much longer legs and the back up because he couldn't stand the way Storm drove as if laying down. "It's comfortable and big enough to be safe in accidents. Plus there's nothing wrong with leather seats."

"It's slow and looks like every other Cadillac on earth."

"That's likely why your dad wants you to drive it. So you don't stand out."

"And when I go out in public as his daughter I do drive it. When I drive my car I don't want a thing to do with him. Do you understand what I mean Taylor? When I drive my car I just wanna be Storm. I just wish my last name was Smith then. I want people to know me for being the best racer with a cool car, not for being the daughter of someone their common sense tells them to fear."

"I understand." Boy did he ever. He knew were she just Storm the street racer his mother would have a much easier time accepting her into his life. As Storm, Benny 'Chains' daughter there could be a fight over pot roast.

"For some reason I bet you do." Storm said as she looked over at Taylor where he was competently driving her car. "There some reason why you don't wanna take the Cadillac boat to your mom's?"

_Because it looks like the life embodied?_ Taylor thought but was wise enough to keep to himself. "Because I don't want to have to go right back to your house after dinner."

"Ok. What should I wear to your moms?" Storm had never met a man whom she was dating's parents before and she really wasn't sure how she was supposed to go about doing so now.

"Whatever. She's your father's age. Anything your dad would find scandalous, so will my mom."

"Everything I own my dad finds scandalous in some way."

"He wouldn't think what you have on now was. Wear what you want Storm. It won't matter. I'm just sayin' all those suggestive tee shirts and crop tops you wear will shock mom a bit. She's not a fan of girls dressing revealing, ok?"

"Don't get all uptight on me Taylor. I'll find something to wear."

Taylor pulled the car up to his own house and got out. Storm did as well and walked around the rear of the car. She slid into the driver's seat as Taylor started toward his front door. "I'll be by for you in about half an hour, ok?"

"I'll be ready Taylor."

She pulled away from the curb and headed for home. When she got home she parked the car in the garage and headed in through the back door and up to her room. She took another quick shower so she could leave her hair down and headed into her room to try and pick out an outfit that wouldn't shock Taylor's conservative mother.

Ten minutes later Storm was busy contemplating how many tee shirts and pairs of various varieties of gym pants she owned in her underwear. She really didn't think the event would be causal enough for gym wear. But it wasn't like she could wear her club wear either.

She finally pulled on a pair of black stretch material flair bottom pants. She pulled a face at herself in her mirror. The pants were too low on her abdomen for this occasion, but if she wore a long enough top it wouldn't matter. The issue was she seemed to own only tee shirts and revealing dance clothes.

She quickly remembered that some of her mother's things were in a box in a spare room. There might just be something suitable in Cara's old clothes. After all, the clothes of the seventies were back, Storm thought with a smirk.

After routing around in the box 'til almost the bottom she came up with a flesh coloured blouse. It was from Neiman Marcus if the tag was to be believed and was covered in fancy beadwork with little cap sleeves and a vee neck. It went fairly deep into her cleavage but it was still classy. It had to be, after all, it had belonged to her mother and her mother was nothing if not classy. She pulled it on quickly, knowing her deadline to meet Taylor out front was already a few minutes past gone.

There went her idea to wear a touch of make up. She shrugged. If she'd been wearing make up Taylor might just have dropped out of shock. She sprinted back to her own room, slid her feet into a pair of strappy sandals she'd never worn before and jogged down the stairs.

She found Taylor waiting for her in the driveway. She opened the passenger door of his van and climbed in. "Hey."

"Hey. I was wonderin' if you decided to stay home." Taylor made a crack at her lateness.

"Yeah, yeah. I had to go lookin' through my mom's old stuff for a shirt ok, shesh."

"You turned out ok."

"Wow! Thanks." Storm retorted sarcastically before turning to look out the window. "Did you tell your mom you were bringing a guest?"

"No, it'll be a nice surprise. She kinda figured out I was seein' somebody and she's been after me who ever since."

"You actually let on to your mom you were seeing somebody? As in she knows you're only seeing one girl exclusively?"

"Yeah." Taylor rubbed his head, slightly agitated.

"I'm impressed." Storm chuckled. His discomfort did something to relieve her own nervousness with the situation.

They fell into silence as Taylor drove the van from Storm's house to his mom's. His mother lived slightly outside the city limits and they were facing about forty five minutes drive to get to her place.

When they pulled up to a pretty white house on its own lot Taylor cut the van and climbed out. Storm fought nerves as she moved to follow him up to the front door. This was Taylor's sainted mother. She hadn't seen Mrs. Reese since she was about fourteen and Taylor and his mother had still lived right in Brooklyn close to Teddy and his family. What would Taylor's mom, who had never appreciated Taylor's job choice, think of him dating someone like her?

If Storm had to guess she'd bet money on Mrs. Reese hating the idea. The question was exactly what she'd do about it when she found out. Taylor already had the door open by the time Storm started up the stairs.

"Are you ok?" Taylor asked.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You're walkin' so slow I thought you mighta hurt yourself."

"Ha ha ha. I'm fine Tay, get in the house." She gave him a playful shove into the front hall.

"I'm just checkin' up on ya. Don't get all pissy with me."

Storm smirked. "Yeah, you were full of love and concern." She said sarcastically.

"You're really gonna hurt my feelings if you keep acting like I don't care what happens to you."

"I'm sure."

"Taylor? Is that you?" Someone called from inside the house.

"Yeah ma! It's me." Taylor called back, bending over to unlace his boots.

"Who's that with you?" Mrs. Reese called back.

"A surprise." Taylor answered, his teasing making him look years younger and half as dangerous. "What's for supper?" He called as he stood up and kicked off his shoes.

"Pot roast." Taylor's mother called back. Taylor grinned. He'd called that one. He heard his mother walking their way through the house up from the back where the kitchen was. He looked to his left and then his right trying to find Storm. He found her behind him instead. He was about to ask her if she was ok when his mother finally reached the porch.

"It feels like forever since I've seen you." She said as she hugged him. Taylor had to bend down to allow her to do so, and to place a kiss on his cheek. "Now, let's meet this young lady that's finally convinced you to pick one girl to be with for more than a few days at a time."

"Yeah, let's meet her." Taylor said with a devilish glint in his eyes as he pulled Storm out from behind himself and pushed her in front of him, between him and his mother. He rested his hands on her shoulders lightly, as much to hold her in place as to reassure her. "Mom, I'm sure you remember Storm."

"Hey Mrs. Reese." Storm said meekly as she held her hand out to the older woman.

"Miss Demaret. It's been a long time." Mrs Reese answered formally.

"About six years. But please, call me Storm. I really don't know who Miss Demaret would be. Sounds too much like you're talking to my mom."

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to make you think of your mother. You poor thing, growing up without her." As though thinking of Storm's upbringing had reminded her that she'd known her since she was a small girl she took Storm into a quick hug.

"It's ok, really." Storm sighed, never sure how to explain her mother to people who still thought her mother was dead now that she knew she wasn't. "My mom didn't die. Her death was faked, just another one of my father's harebrained schemes. I just found out she's still alive a little while ago and went to meet her. I have a room in her house down in Miami now, and a little sister I just met. She's twelve." Storm babbled a bit, not sure what to say.

"You never told me you had a sister 'Ella. When were you gonna tell me?"

"I'm sorry Tay, I guess just with," Storm looked up at Taylor and shrugged to try and fake flippancy when she really felt nothing close. "All the stuff with Chris I guess I just forgot. We haven't had a lot of time to talk since Chris was killed."

"I'm so sorry about your cousin dear. I know you were all very close." Mrs. Reese said as she took Storm's hand and started to lead her deeper into the house.

"Matty's takin it pretty hard." Storm answered.

"How is your brother? I never see him anymore."

"He's ok. I never told him about mom yet though. I'm hopin' he might just take the chance of a free place to stay as a sign he's supposed to get the hell outta New York."

"What about you?"

"I'm a big city girl at heart." Storm answered with a smile.

"Miami's not a small city."

"No, but it's not my city. I like it there but it's too," Storm paused for a word. There wasn't one. "Too sunny, too hot. The people are too fake and plastic. Too much like a vacation. New York's home. It's dirty, it's mean and it's mine. I just don't really feel at home anywhere else. The people are real here, true to what they are."

"Of course New York has some other draws doesn't it?"

"Not really, no." Storm said with a smile, pretending she didn't know what Taylor's mom was getting at. That Taylor was a draw to New York as well.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Taylor asked as he caught up to his mother and girlfriend, giving one of Storm's shiny curls a tug for punishment.

"Oh! Well, of course I miss Taylor when I'm staying in Miami. I haven't spent a lot of time in Miami yet. I just know it doesn't feel like home. That'll come as I get use to the place. I met a guy with a good garage already so at least the car has someplace to get taken care of down there. I doubt CJ'll be happy to hear it though."

"Who's CJ?" Taylor's mom asked.

"My technician. He built the Skyline for me and he does all the work on it I can't do myself."

"Do you work on it a lot yourself?"

"Just messin' around mostly. I don't know enough to be really serious about it. I just like doin' it mostly. Hangin out in the garage gives me an excuse not to be in the house."

"Is there something wrong at home?"

Storm really didn't know how to answer that. She knew that it would likely make Taylor's mother happy she wasn't in good with her old man, but it was still a sore subject. "The old man's not happy I found out about my mother." Storm's face screwed up in thought. "We had a huge fight right before that because of something I did but when he pissed," Storm looked up in chagrin when the swear word left her mouth. Taylor snickered. Storm decided to simply continue as if nothing had happened. "Me off I decided to go through his office. I wasn't sure at that time if I was gonna sell him up the river or not. When I found out about my mother I took off to meet her."

"What does Matty think of the whole situation?"

"He doesn't know." Storm lifted one shoulder. "I didn't want to tell him in case she didn't want us. I won't ever put Matty through something like that after all he's already been through."

Lilith Reese looked at Storm with new respect. "Now that you know Cara is glad to have you back in her life, and isn't going to turn you away, isn't it time you told Matty?"

Taylor looked at Storm searchingly, revealing he agreed with his mother.

"Maybe you just don't want to share her with Matty yet?" Lilith asked, putting Taylor's thoughts into words to succinctly Taylor turned to look at her in shock.

"Oh nothing like that Mrs. Reese. I was still making plans to come home and tell him the night he called me and told me he was stranded in another state and Chris and Marbles were dead." Storm didn't know if Taylor had shared the details of his injury with his mother and if he hadn't Storm wasn't going to be the one to tell her. "I've been sharing everything with my brother so long I won't mind sharing this. It's just that if we hadn't been living with our uncle life'd be a lot different for both of us. I don't want to dump on Matty that if Dad hadn't been such an ass he and I both would have gone to live with our mother and uncle Teddy never would have had the chance to do what he did. Not after all Matty just went through."

"I think you're old enough to call me Lilith now dear. And for what it's worth I think it's time you told your brother. He deserves to know his mother is still out there too."

"I know he does. You just haven't seen Matty since I brought him home from Montana. He has so much stress and so much going on right now, it hardly seems fair to dump more on him now."

"What about your little sister? Doesn't she deserve to know her brother?"

"Yeah, of course. But as far as I'm concerned she deserves to know her father too but that ain't never gonna happen."

"Why not?" Taylor asked.

"Cause she's Benny's and mom made me swear not to tell him. He doesn't know. I guess they tried to get back together when Matty and I were kids, right before pops when to jail. She got pregnant then but decided she couldn't stay with pops so she went back to Miami. When she found out about Tabitha she didn't tell dad because she thought he'd take her away like he took me'n Matty away."

"You're gonna keep that from 'Chains'?" Taylor asked. He clearly didn't think it was a great idea. He also realized he should not have used Storm's father's nickname in front of his mother a second later. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was frowning. _Shit_.

"What else can I do? We hardly talk anyway now and mom's right. He'd flip out and he might decide to take Tabitha away from her for revenge. I won't do that to my own mother Taylor."

"Well, enough of this talk! You two had a hard enough day without finishing it with fighting and negativity over dinner. You two go sit at the dining table and I'll get the food."

"Can I do anything to help?" Storm offered, surprising herself and Taylor. She wasn't very domestic.

"No dear, you just go sit down. Taylor will show you where." Lilith turned to her son. "You'll need to set an extra place for Storm. I didn't know you were bringing a guest with you."

"I don't know where dining room is in the new house, but I could likely find it." Storm admitted but allowed Taylor to lead her through the rooms by the hand.

"There you are 'Ella. You hang tight here and I'll grab an extra plate."

Storm just nodded. She heard Taylor and his mother talking in low tones in the kitchen and a few minutes later Taylor came back with a plate, and silverware. He seemed to pause for a moment, thinking about where to sit. He ultimately picked a seat right beside Storm rather than across the table from her. He set up his place and left the room again. A moment later he followed his mother back into the room carrying a platter with the roast on one hand and a bowl of potatoes in the other.

Both set down their burdens onto the table. "You want a drink Storm?" Taylor asked.

"Whatever you're having." She answered.

Taylor returned with two glasses of water. "There you go."

"Thanks."

Dinner went well, in Storm's opinion. She was glad to know that Lilith didn't seem to hate the idea of her and Taylor together. It wasn't like she'd break up with him over it but she knew it would bother him if his mother, whom he loved and respected very much, couldn't stand the thought of them together.

They stayed to talk a while after the meal. Storm couldn't shake the feeling that while Lilith Reese was ok with her personally she still wasn't thrilled with the idea of her being with Taylor. She's seemed ok with it at first. Storm could only figure that seeing Taylor with her, seeing how he truly treated her well and seemed to really care for her had turned Lilith off the idea.

Storm could only guess perhaps at first his mother had seen them as a passing thing and was now seeing them in a more permanent light. She figured she was on to something when Lilith asked Taylor to help her move something upstairs. Storm offered to help and was told it would only take a moment so she might as well stay put. When they came back downstairs Taylor had a strange look on his face.

A short while later he told Storm it was time to go. Lilith showed them to the door and they drove back to the city. Taylor didn't say much and since Storm didn't know what had put him into such a bad mood she didn't say anything either. She didn't want to make it worse. She didn't think, after her day and all the things she'd been through up to today she could take a fight with Taylor. When he drove her right home, despite how he'd told her earlier he didn't want to have to take her right home she was sure his mother had said something that had made him think if he wanted to stay with her or not.

Her mental state was fragile enough that she had herself convinced he was going to break up with her over it. She walked into her house fighting tears. Taylor Reese was the one thing in her life that still had the ability to make her feel such intense emotions. Even Matty didn't make her feel to the extremes he once had.

With thoughts of what she figured was her impending break up with Taylor running through her mind she took off up to her room.

Taylor started the forty-five minute drive back out to his mother's with a sigh. He hadn't wanted to leave Storm waiting in the living room while he fought with his mom but he was going to have to go talk to her. She was upset, he was upset and he had a bad feeling they'd managed to upset Storm, despite trying not to.

He knew Storm was very in tuned with moods around her. She was very good at reading people. It was almost uncanny how she could know things people were hiding from her just by how they held themselves and how they spoke. She could pick things up from what was said and from what was left unsaid on purpose equally well and she often used them to decide how to act or what was going to happen. Knowing that made him feel even more unsettled.

The conversation he'd had upstairs with his mother was still running through his head.

"Taylor, you always told me you wanted to have a Jewish wedding, live a Jewish life."

"That hasn't changed mom."

"She's a Catholic. You can't marry her in a Jewish wedding. Not one legal in our faith."

"We'll cross that bridge if we ever get there."

"Taylor, she won't convert. Her family is just as dedicated to being Catholic as we are to being Jewish."

"Not Storm." Taylor said defensively. "She only goes because Matty and Mr. Demaret do."

"She will not do anything that will have her father mad at her, mark my words. They might be angry with each other now but they will make up. You know the relationship they have just as well as I do. It was always evident that that man has put all his pride on his daughter and she all her idolization onto her father. They're two people cut from the same cloth."

"Mom, it's not important right now. I've only been dating her a few weeks. I don't think I'm likely to go down on one knee any time soon. She and I will work it out if it ever becomes an issue."

"You already care about her a great deal." His mother had said, sadness in her eyes. "I can see it when you talk to her, look at her. There's something in how you look at her. It's never been something I've seen from you before."

"She's a good person. You just have to know where to look to see it."

"I do see it. I just think she'd be better off finding a nice Italian boy to date and you would do better finding a girl who has our beliefs. Both of you will be happier and suffer less in the long run if you do it now not later."

"I can't believe we're having this conversation. You married an Italian man."

"Yes and I wouldn't change it for the world because I had you, but turning my back on my faith and my beliefs changed me in a lot of ways and I don't want that for you."

"Can't you just want me to be happy?"

"By happy do you mean higher in this corrupt world you work in? Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind you're using this girl for what she can do for you!" His mother started to get irate the more she wound herself up.

"I like Storm. I won't lie and say I would have met her anyway if my father hadn't been one of Teddy's men. I don't know, maybe I would have and maybe I wouldn't have. But I do know I'd like her just as much, if not more, if she wasn't Benny's kid, if she was just another Brooklyn hoodrat."

"Of course you're saying that, but how much of this infatuation you have with her is because children the two of you have together would be able to be 'made' because their mother was pure blooded Italian?"

Taylor tamped down his anger with effort and rubbed his head. "Mom, I'm gonna take Stormianna home and then you and I are gonna talk about this more."

Lilith frowned heavily but nodded her agreement.

They walked down the stairs together. When Storm's green eyes met his he saw that she knew. Much as he and his mother pasted smiles on their faces and acted like all was well she saw right through him. He told her it was time to go very soon after and they left. He hated every minute of the ride to her house. He could tell she knew something was wrong but she was so messed up from the day she'd had she didn't know which way was up as it was. She simply sat in her seat in his van with her legs pulled up to her chest and looked out the passenger side window instead of the front. She almost hadn't waited for the van to stop before she was out of it and running up to the front door of her house.

He pulled up to his mother's house for the second time with a sigh. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

Storm walked into her room and started shedding her dressy clothes in a trail on her way to her closet. She headed straight to the closet and walked in so she could get dressed again. She picked out an outfit which had been hanging in the back of her closet for some time. The tags were still firmly attached because she'd never worked up the nerve to wear the clothes in public.

She pulled on the pants first and looked in her mirror. With a face she pulled them off again and removed her underwear. There was no help for it, she couldn't wear anything under her pants. The front and back were two separate pieces of material joined from top to bottom by straps, allowing her leg to show through from hip to ankle and the front across both her hip bones and most of her stomach was cut out in a starburst pattern. Anything she wore under them was going to show. Not to mention the material moulded her body like a second skin, the shiny cloth looking like mercury across her body and bringing out the best of her naturally dark, tanned skin.

She put the matching top on. It was a cropped bustier that also laced up the front and had interesting cut out sections as well, not to mention not much of a back.

As she put on the matching silver armbands around her upper arms she contemplated the sanity of wearing the clothes she was wearing out of her house. As she tied on her mile high, clear as glass wrap around sandals she tried to convince herself it was a good idea to go to a dance club dressed like she belonged in a rap video, or barring that swinging around a pole to the tune of some stripper song.

She straightened her riotous curls into a sleek waterfall of shining blonde before she did her make up with a very heavy hand and sprayed on 'Beyond Paradise' before pulling on her leather trench coat so if her father or brother saw her on her way out they wouldn't flip out at her and forbid her from leaving the house. Not to mention it was November and she knew she'd freeze to death waiting for the car to warm up without a coat. She got in the Cadillac and headed down to Overdrive.

She left her coat in the car reluctantly, unsure about having so much of her body on display. She knew Taylor would hate it and the part of her thinking like an adult knew that was why she was wearing it. It was too racy and attention seeking to be her style. But she wanted to piss him off like he'd hurt her. She also knew he wasn't even likely to see her wearing her new outfit but she didn't care. Other people would see her. Other guys would want her. _And goddamn Taylor Reese and his mother anyway. Who needs them?_

Even as her eyes were adjusting to the dim lighting of Ivan's club she was seeking out Devon and CJ. She found them in their usual corner and started their way. She stopped beside CJ and waited for them to notice her. When they finally did two jaws dropped.

"Storm? Is that you?" Devon asked. Storm nodded. "It's just that I've never seen so much of you at one time." Devon continued.

Storm smiled almost shyly. "Is it too over the top?"

"If you _don't _want every guy in the place slipping in his own drool then yes."

"Damn you look good grease monkey." CJ said, using his pet name for Storm as he turned around in his chair. "Wanna dance with me? Please?"

"If you want your toes stepped on than sure." Storm answered, glad her friends still saw her as just Storm and didn't feel the need to treat her different because her cousin died.

"You drinkin' tonight sweets?" Devon asked as CJ started to lead Storm out onto the dance floor.

"Hell yeah." Storm answered back over her shoulder. As she and CJ reached the dance floor the dj started to play 'Get it poppin'.

"So, whatcha drivin' tonight?" Cj asked into her ear as he gripped Storm's hips in his hands as they moved together.

"Cadillac. You?"

"Just a little CL500 convertible I picked up the other day." CJ grinned.

"Really?" Storm cocked an eyebrow as she looked back over her shoulder. Did anyone just 'pick up' a Mercedes CL500? There was more to the story than CJ was telling her. She resolved to find out later how he came to have his new ride.

"Yeah. You ever wanna go for a ride you lemme know girlie."

"If that's ever an option I'll let you know." Storm said, picking up on what CJ was offering. There had always been an element of attraction in their relationship Storm knew. It was just that it was more on his end than it ever had been hers. He was a nice looking man, but Storm liked him too much to do him the favour of giving Taylor any reason to go after him. Who'd fix the Skyline then?

"Alright. Do I even want to know where the Skyline is?"

"It's in Miami, but it's still mine. Long story."

CJ only nodded, sensing it wasn't a topic she was interested in pursuing just then. When the song ended they made their way back to Devon, who was holding down the fort at their table with a selection of drinks.

"I didn't know what you wanted so your friend Ivan sent over a selection."

"I love Vanya." Storm said with a grin as she tossed back a very interesting rainbow coloured shot off the table. "Whatever that was, it was good."

"There are two more." Devon pushed them over with a smile. Storm drank them in rapid succession.

"Don't just sit there, drink up." She told her friends. They were all too happy to oblige. Likely because he knew what Storm had been through with her cousin's funeral Vanya kept the table covered in the drinks he saw her enjoying the most and Storm, unable to waste good liquor kept sucking them down.

'_You're being stupid'_ kept running through her head but she didn't listen. She also knew it was more over the fact she'd convinced herself that Taylor would be soon telling her he didn't want to see her anymore than over Chris, but all the factors had merged together to leave her in a lethal mood. Being at Overdrive was driving home the point that her cousin would never again walk around the security with a cocky grin right over to her side to pull her into a dance even more suggestive than the one she had been executing with CJ. On that note, CJ asked her to go dance with him again and she said yes, tossing back another shot for the road.

Taylor walked into Overdrive. He wasn't happy. That might even have been the biggest understatement ever. His conversation with his mother had been long and painful. They hadn't come to any sort of resolution other than to let the subject drop. Neither of them was willing to cave to the other's position.

To add to the horrible night of driving and fighting he'd dealt with, when he'd called the house to talk to Storm she'd been long gone. Matty hadn't even known where she'd gone, let alone when or how. Matty had been working on the assumption she was still out with him. Of course Taylor had known where she was right away. There was only one place she'd run off to when she was mad at him and the world, not to mention no doubt looking for revenge.

Being prepared for it didn't make it any easier to handle when he walked into the club she was so fond of and found her dancing to a very sexy song with her friend CJ. He stopped in the shadows of the door and watched her move, CJ behind her moving his hips in a synchronous rhythm with hers.

The outfit she had on should have been illegal for several reasons, not the least of which was the way most of the guys within a ten foot radius of her were watching her move. The multicoloured lights of the dance club glistened on the silver, liquid silver surface of her clothes and danced in the shiny gold of her hair. Her hair being down around her in that outfit should definitely have classified as a sin on its own. He had never seen her hair straight before and it changed her look from a wild hoyden to a sexy, sophisticated woman. Even from the other side of the room he could see how it focused attention on her exotically slanted green eyes and winged brows which pointed instead of arching. She had her brother's high cheekbones and her straight hair played up the angles.

He didn't know the song they were dancing to but she was enjoying it whatever it was. She was moving against CJ in ways he knew he never wanted to see her move with any man but himself.

As much as he hated it, he was almost hypnotised by it and he stood frozen to his spot and simply watched her move. That was until the first time the song spoke the phrase 'when they ask me who I love you're the answer.' When he heard that line and saw his girl dancing with another man he saw red. He started her way but he made slow progress, hampered by the intoxicated, grinding crowd who were thickly filling the floor. Storm was on the far side of the room and he realized he was going to have to make his way around the long way. He was never going to make it across all the dancing bodies.

She and CJ were dancing to 'King of the Dancehall' by Beenieman when Storm realized Taylor was at Overdrive. She'd honestly thought he would never figure out where she'd be. She also knew for a fact he hated both dance clubs in general, but especially the one where she worked for a Russian mob boss. When she finally saw him moving around the crowded room it was clear the expression on his face was a study in anger. She managed to keep from him the fact she had seen him and continued to play it cool. She never stopped dancing, never lost her rhythm as she wiggled her way down to the floor.

Like he sensed trouble was really forthcoming for both Storm and CJ if Taylor got across the crowded club to where they were dancing before they stopped Devon got up and crossed to Storm. He was closer and smaller so he made it in lots of time to cut in before Taylor could finish his obstacle ridden path around the perimeter of the room.

"CJ you need to go cool it someplace else." Devon said as he grabbed Storm by the hand and pulled her away.

"Devon, you're messing with somethin' you don't understand." Storm warned in low and angry tones even as she picked up a much tamer version of the same dance with Devon.

"I know you're in this club wearing less than he's gonna like dancing a lot more friendly with CJ than he's gonna like."

"I can handle my own self." Storm assured, the alcohol she'd ingested making her feel ten foot tall and bullet proof. "No one tells me what to wear or where to dance or with who!"

"I have no doubt. No one tells you that much of anything if you don't want to hear it sweets. It's always been that way, even when you should really be listening instead of playing at being the most independent woman on earth. But fine, that's your prerogative. What about CJ though? Doesn't he think Taylor's just some guy in collections you happen to date sometimes? He doesn't know why he should be a bit more afraid of him does he?"

"No, but I can take care of me and my business. And that includes Taylor and his bullshit."

"Then take him outside and handle it. You know you can't afford to make a scene in here. What if Ivan decides to handle it for you?"

"He won't."

"He might. Taylor's almost over here and the closer he gets the more red his face turns." Devon confided to Storm before walking away with a wave. Storm turned around to find Taylor right behind her.

"Hey." She yelled to be heard over the music.

Taylor didn't answer her greeting, just took her by the arm and dragged her around the crowd and out the front door.

"Christ Taylor, you're hurtin' me." Storm growled as she fought to get her arm back out of his grip.

Taylor let go abruptly. "Sorry. What the fuck are you doin' in there?"

"It should be pretty fuckin' self explanatory. I'm dancing and having a few drinks with my friends."

"Where the hell are your clothes?"

"I sorta thought that was what I had on." Storm answered sarcastically.

"That don't pass for clothes in my book."

"I guess it's a good thing I don't care what you think I should wear then isn't it?"

"Why you takin' this shit out on me? I didn't do anything but you're here to punish me and you know it."

Storm's brows drew together over her nose, one side of which rose skyward, taking the corner of her lip with it in a sneer. "What'd you care?"

"I care because I care about you and I hate to see you doin' this shit to yourself because you can't deal with it in a better way."

"I deal just fine. Know what? Fuck you! How I dress and how I deal are none of your fuckin' business."

"You made it my business when you came to my place and asked me to come with you today, made me sit with the family, made me ride with your family. You can't pull me that deep into your life and then tell me that the things you do don't affect me too, because they do."

"My clothes have nothing to do with that." Storm partially capitulated, willing to admit that he was a big part of her life because she'd made him one, but not willing to admit that he had any say over what she did with her free time or how she dressed while she did it.

"Maybe not, but you wearin' that, up in a place like this bein' all over some guy does."

"CJ is just my friend. He knows it ain't more and can't never be more. Just cause we're dancing doesn't mean anything else."

"The simple fact is you didn't come here in that outfit planning to have a few drinks and hang out with your friends. You came out here dressed like that to get back at me for whatever you think I did that made you give me the silent treatment in the car."

"You can stop frontin' like you weren't talkin' about me when I wasn't in the room. I know you were so just drop the act." Storm tossed her head and looked away, toward the entrance of the club. She was getting uncomfortable with the subject matter and getting ready to simply walk away from the conversation.

Taylor rubbed his head agitatedly. Just as he feared; she knew. "I don't know what to tell ya Storm."

"Just tell me we're through. Get it over with."

"Is that what you think?"

"It was pretty fuckin' clear your mother couldn't stand the thought of you with me so how long will it take for you to give into what she wants? I mean, for cryin' out loud, my father seems ok with the idea but your mother can't stand it."

"Mom has issues, but I'm twenty four years old Storm. My mother doesn't run my life. If she did there'd be a hell of a lot more different with it than just me not dating you. Besides, she'll come around."

"Maybe I don't think I should have to know she hates me while we wait for that to happen."

"She doesn't hate you 'Ella. She hates the life I live and she hates the reminder of it in the form of you but she likes you just fine."

"Or at least she would if I wasn't Italian and catholic."

"She'll learn to like it or she won't. It won't change my mind about you. Would it have changed yours if your father decided he hated me?"

"No, but I do a lot of things that I know my dad will hate on purpose so that's not even comparing apples to apples."

Her statement actually managed to make Taylor laugh. "Like change your hair to this colour?" Taylor asked as he picked up a handful of the silky straight tresses, which almost reached her waist.

"Among other things." Storm answered with a suggestive look up at him from under her eyelashes, which had been coaxed into impossibly long, thick fans by some very cleverly applied mascara. She batted them in what she hoped was a seductive manner.

Taylor laughed harder. Storm and flirting were just so antonymous to each other that when she tried it was so obviously not a comfort zone for her he couldn't help but chuckle. When she really wanted to outright remind him how sexy he found her he couldn't resist but when she tried to play the coquette it was just amusing. Straightforwardness was far more effective from Storm than a flirtatious act.

Instead of taking it badly he'd laughed at her attempt, like he'd sort of figured she would she joined him laughing. It could have been the liquor she'd had or just the stress but either way she didn't seem insulted.

She took his hand and headed toward the door of the club. "Come dance with me awhile before you take me home." The phrase could simply have been pointing out that she was too intoxicated to drive herself, but the way her green eyes smouldered when she said it, she was clearing implying more than the fact she would need a ride.

He agreed with a nod, unable to force words out of his suddenly very dry mouth. He allowed himself to be led out onto the dance floor. Allowed Storm to place his hands where she wanted them as they waited for the next song to start.

As the music started they started to move. Dancing in a club to such music was one thing where Taylor was more than happy to let his girl lead. He knew it wasn't his strong suit but when he just focused on keeping eye contact with Storm his body seemed to just know what to do to follow hers.

How was it that men looked hot and tired when they got sweaty but women looked like they were glistening with something that just might have been sex appeal? Taylor asked himself as he looked down at the exposed caramel of Storm's Mediterranean skin which was shining with the perspiration resulting from their efforts on the floor. So many girls looked deathly pale next to his dark complexion, but Storm's skin made his look almost white. Funny that her brother looked like any other white man where as Storm definitely showed her decent came from a place where the sand was white and the water was clear blue and snow was a four letter word to which there was no meaning.

CJ watched Storm dance with her boyfriend to Infatuation by Christina Aguilera. They moved like one person, totally in tune to each other. If they'd broken eye contact over the course of the three songs they'd danced to since Storm had brought the large man back inside the club CJ hadn't picked up on it.

"_He steals my heart when he takes my hand and we dance to the rhythm of the band. I feel his fingertips grip my hips and I slip back we dip into a state of bliss_…"

The intensity they had for each other was plain to see. But Storm did everything in her life with that same intensity so that didn't surprise CJ one bit. He just hoped that in the end this Taylor punk wouldn't be just another guy who saw Storm as a quick ride to the top of some scene or another. It had happened in the past.

"…_reads the tattoo on his arm. He tells me Mami I need ya. And my heart beat pumps so strong…I begin to give in with no hesitation…its pure infatuation_."

He had to admit they looked good together which shouldn't have been the case. Storm was dressed to the nines in an outfit more blatantly sexy than anything he'd ever seen her wear. Taylor was wearing a white undershirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. He shouldn't have looked good with a woman like Storm.

She should have looked good with a man in a loose button up shirt and Tommy Hilfiger slacks with dress socks on and Italian leather loafers. Someone wearing cologne not bought at a drug store. Someone with perfectly styled hair, not someone without any. In short, she should look better with him than with her Taylor. But she looked better with Taylor and CJ knew it. And it was all simply because of how they were just looking at each other.

"_Skin the color of cinnamon, his eyes light up and I melt within. Feels so good it must be a sin. I can't stop what I started, I'm giving in. He brings life to my fantasies. Sparks a passion inside of me. Finds the words when I can not speak. In the silence, his heartbeat is music to me._"

Like the rest of the dance floor, the rest of the club, the rest of the damn world didn't exist and didn't matter one iota to them. Like they couldn't wait to blow the whole scene off and be alone some place.

And god damn it, it wasn't fair.

Taylor upset her all the time, put her down. He wasn't good to her, not like CJ knew he would be. He'd make her his queen, put her on the throne she belonged on. Let her race, make sure her car would win. Take her dancing, take her to beautiful places she'd only dreamed of seeing. He had the class to be welcomed everywhere and the money to take them there. But she only had interest in Taylor.

He had more in common with Storm than Taylor ever would. She could be a great driver, like he'd been before his wreck. With him to build the cars and her to drive them there'd be no stopping them.

He knew that could be true even without the romantic entanglements, but he wanted the whole package. He also knew if he valued the life he'd come so close to loosing in a flaming car wreck, he wouldn't push his position. Storm could keep the details of what her boyfriend did unsaid all she wanted, it wasn't as obtuse as she seemed to think. He wouldn't mess with Taylor, he wasn't that stupid. But that didn't mean he didn't wish he was the one out there with Storm.

He watched as Taylor led her off the floor toward the door.

No, there wasn't much he wouldn't give to be in Taylor's shoes right now.

He tossed back another drink with a violent sigh as his blue eyes scanned the room. It was time he moved on and looked for a girl he was free to chase after. Waiting for Storm to fall for him was just wasted time.


	16. Fleeing the Storm

**Velocity Shift**

By _TempestRaces_

Chapter 15 – **Fleeing the Storm**

٭

Storm woke up the next morning slightly hung over and lightly drooling on Taylor's chest as the sunlight crept in around his curtains and slid over her face with creeping fingers. She squinted in the sliver of liquid yellow, the sunlight glaring off her sable lashes and making solar flairs in front of her irises as she tried to remember how she had ended up at Taylor's house, in Taylor's bed, slobbering on Taylor's chest.

It came back to her as she got up and headed to the bathroom, seeing her discarded silver pants along the way. When she came back Taylor was still sleeping. As she looked at him laying there in his bed with his arms wrapped around a pillow he'd pulled into them when she'd gotten up, she started to realize what men felt like when they felt the pressure of commitment closing in on them. She was starting to think she belonged there, with Taylor. She was starting to think of _herself_ as belonging to Taylor, which was scary in itself. She had, for a long time, thought of Taylor as _hers_. How on earth were they ever going to make this thing work?

How on earth could she live if they didn't find a way?

Last night had solved nothing. She wanted to be with Taylor, Taylor wanted to be with her, both their parents could think of things they would rather have occur. Like a plague, a horde of locusts, a total flood of New York, finding out they were both gay and would thus never have any natural children. She now had two families that lived at other ends of the country. How was she supposed to have a relationship with Taylor around all those obstacles? At least part of the time their relationship would have to be long distance. She would be in Miami, he in New York. He had to do his job if he wanted to have money for his place, food, activities. She could stop working and never lift a finger for the rest of her life and she'd still have her father and mother, not to mention her brother, fighting each other to take care of her.

She needed some space, some room to think. It was almost Christmas time anyway. Thanksgiving was only a few days away. It was time to go back to her mother and sister. It was time to start making new memories. Memories that didn't have to hurt as much as her life and memories with her father currently did.

And that meant it was time to tell Matty about his mom. And that was going to suck. Storm started going quietly through Taylor's drawers, looking for something she could wear. She couldn't bring herself to get dressed again in her tight silver clothes. She still had to get out of there. She also couldn't imagine taking the bus to her car wearing her clubbing outfit. Since she had no intention of waking Taylor for a ride to her car that only left the bus.

She pulled a pair of his shorts and one of his undershirts before padding quietly to the door. When she was confronted by her high heeled, clear shoes she sighed. She was supposed to trek to the bus stop in boxer shorts and hooker heels? What choice did she really have? She knew she wasn't walking around New York barefoot and Taylor's shoes would be like skis on her. At least, given the diverse populace of the city, she wouldn't even likely be the oddest dressed person on the commute. She had a last minute change of heart and got dressed in her own clothes, but then pulled a sweatshirt out of Taylor's dresser and pulled it on over her top. It fell more than half way to her knees and she figured it would hide enough to render her clothing decent for daytime wear.

She opened the front door of the apartment and stepped out into the hall.

٭

Taylor woke up an hour later. He rolled onto his back in bed and stretched hugely, much as he did every day. Something nagged in the back of his mind on this morning however. Something told him he shouldn't have had quite so much room to stretch out into. As he recalled where Storm had spent the night he realized why. Storm should have been there with him. But she clearly wasn't. So where the hell was she?

He rolled out of bed and wandered toward the living room, scratching his belly as he went. There was no sign of her and her clothes and shoes were gone. Taylor cussed loudly in his empty apartment. What had she done, walked to the car? He wouldn't put it past her, that was for sure. He returned to his room and got dressed before jogging down the stairs of his building and getting in his van. He started driving along the route he figured Storm would have taken when she left his place. He made it all the way to Overdrive and never saw a single sign of her. Her car was gone, so he figured at least she had made it safely back to her ride.

He'd call her later, after the urge to wring her neck had abated. Then he'd find her and burn that outfit she had had on last night before he took her out to dinner someplace. He was scared how easily he could envision her spending another night in his place, waking up together in the mornings. What the hell was he getting himself into?

٭

Storm pulled up to the front door of her house and hopped out of the car. She didn't care to take the time to park the Cadillac in the garage. She ran up the front steps and up the stairs to her room quickly. She didn't want to be seen coming home dressed as she was. Much as she doubted her father would dare say anything to her after everything that had happened she also wanted to do her best to avoid the possibility. After she showered and changed she left her room looking for Matty.

She planned to be in Miami getting a tan for Christmas and making her brother wait any longer to find that out and to find out the reasons why wasn't fair. She pushed into his room after a perfunctory knock on the door. He was sitting at his computer, again on the internet. He turned in his office chair to look at her as she walked into his room.

"Storm, where were you last night?"

"Overdrive and then at an after party with some friends." Why she didn't come right out and tell him she spent the night with Taylor she didn't know. It wasn't like he didn't know she had stayed there before. Hell, it wasn't even like she hadn't rubbed his nose in the fact they stayed the night together before. But she just didn't want him to run to Taylor and ask him questions about how she had come to be at his house. She didn't want Matty to know what she had been up to when Taylor found her and she didn't want Matty to know how messed up she had been.

"You could call me and let me know. I worry about you when I have no idea where you are."

"I can take care of myself Matty. You should know that by now," Storm answered as she flopped backwards onto his bed before rolling up onto her elbow. The debate was a tired one, something she felt as though she'd explained a million times yet he had clearly never heard. "Besides, I'm not going to tell you where I'm going and when I'll be back for the rest of my life," Storm said before pausing for a deep breath. "Matty, we need to talk."

Matty went into protective older brother mode. The way he bristled was obvious. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, per say. Not for me in any event," she mumbled. "You know about the fight I had with Dad."

"Yeah, what about it? That was days ago."

"Well, because of that fight I decided I'd get even with him."

Matty groaned. "What did you do?" What wouldn't his sister do in the heat of the moment? She was ruthless and sometimes it got in the way of her common sense, making her do stupid things. Anything she did in the name of getting even with their father was stupid.

"Why do you assume I did anything? Maybe I just thought about it," Storm said defensively. "Why do you always assume the worst about me?"

"Yeah, ok. You thought you should get revenge but then you decided you didn't really want to," Matty rolled his eyes. "When have you ever had any attitude other than shoot first and ask questions later?"

"Ok, ok," Storm gave in with a chuckle. It wasn't like he was wrong. "I went into his office and rooted through his papers, in his filing cabinet."

"I never woulda thought you had a death wish Storm. What the fuck were you thinking?" Matty became angry in a flash. After all that had already gone down between father and daughter, what was she thinking doing something so stupid? The one thing more likely to make her father crazy angry than telling him to go fuck himself and she does it right after doing the other!

"That I'd find something to hold over his head, what'd ya think?" Storm answered in exasperation. As always, she never saw the danger she was putting herself in. Or if she saw it, simply didn't let it faze her.

"Well, did you?"

"Not exactly," Storm said and paused to gather her thoughts. "I found something but it's not really something I can hold over his head. Matty," she stopped again. This was way harder than she'd anticipated. How did one tell one's sensitive older sibling that something he'd spent most of his life believing never really happened? And because that something had never happened all the strife he'd been put through had been unnecessary and almost like some cruel joke?

"What is it Storm?"

"I found out that our mother isn't really dead," she blurted out in a rush.

Matty's face filled with sympathy. It was clear he thought she was mentally unwell and making this fact up. "Storm," he said soothingly. "Mom died having you baby girl. I know it would be nice to have a normal, sane, loving parent but our mother is dead. Crazy pop is all we got."

"I thought so too, then I found a file about her in his office with her current address. She's still alive."

"I know that pop has some strange ideas of how to fool people that might go looking for information in the house Storm. You should know that too. You can't take anything he has here in the house seriously."

"You can take this seriously. It's real Matty."

"No it's not Storm," Matty said firmly. "Our mother is dead. She's been dead since I was four years old. That's just life Storm."

Storm rolled her eyes, frustrated at her inability to make Matty understand. "Her phone number in Miami is 305-446-7865. Why don't you call her?" Storm said as she held Matty's eyes. "After you talk to her, see if you can still tell me she doesn't exist then."

"Stormianna!" Matty's tone went from sympathetic to angry when she insisted on continuing along the same vein. "This isn't my idea of a joke. What did I ever do to you?"

"Why don't you ask what dad did to both of us instead, huh?" Storm sat up at the edge of the bed and fidgeted, picking at lint on her pants in agitation. "It's not like I asked for this. Not like I asked to be told my whole life that my mom died because I was born and then find out it was all a lie. Go ask dad if you think I'm making it up. He knows I know and I doubt he'll deny it. He just wasn't going to tell you on his own," Storm bit out. She was upset her own brother thought she was lying about something so serious. She got up off the bed and started to pace around the room.

"Why would he lie about something like this? Why would our mother go to Miami and never tell us she was really ok?"

"He lied because he didn't get his own way with her and mom stayed in Miami because she couldn't face coming back to living under his thumb."

"Why'd he send her away in the first place? Storm, none of what you're telling me makes any sense."

"He sent her away in the first place because an enemy of his and Teddy's threatened her. He thought the best thing to do at the time was send her away where no one knew him. He figured the best way to do it was to fake her death and the easiest time to do that was when she went into labour with me."

"I know our life is sorta out in left field most days here Storm, but this is kinda wild to believe, even for us."

"Taylor knows where I went when I left, why don't you call him and ask him?"

"Taylor went with you and met our mother?"

"No," Storm admitted before blowing some wisps of hair off her forehead forcefully. "He didn't come with me. It was him I ran to the night I found the file about mom. It was him that told me if I thought I should go than I should just go. It was him who believed me when I told him what I found, him who was there for me that night when I thought I was gonna lose my mind."

"I can't believe this," Matty growled.

Storm lit onto one convincing argument she had yet to bring out. "Where's my car then? You know I wouldn't leave the Skyline just anywhere! You know it's got to be someplace safe. I left it with mom in Miami."

"So if I call that number you just gave me right now I'll get my own mother on the line?" Matty asked. His tone still belayed the fact he didn't believe a word.

"Yeah, sure. You could call her right now if you wanted. Up to you. Personally I'm flying down there to spend thanksgiving and Christmas with her and Tabitha. I'm leaving tomorrow," Storm headed for the door with that announcement. "Believe me or not, at the very least you will be seeing a lot less of me in the future. I have a mother and sister that I have twenty years worth of catching up to do with."

"Sister?" Matty asked in shock.

"Yeah, sister. She's twelve. She's our half sister," Storm improvised quickly. "Dad is not to know about her, got it? Anyway, I think I might see if I can fly Tabitha up here for the Macy's parade and take her shopping afterward."

"This is just too fucked up Storm. This is my life, not some fuckin' soap opera. I can't fucken believe this shit." Matty said, getting up from his chair and pacing around the room, right past where Storm was standing in his door.

"It's about as fucked up as you thinking I'd really tell you something like this to hurt your feelings. What about _my_ feelings? What about the fact that I grew up thinking I was the reason why mom was dead? What about what I went through with Teddy and the bitch? But none of that matters, I guess. I gotta go," Storm said as she turned around to leave the room.

"Storm wait," Matty said with a sigh. He had really fucked this one up in his shock.

"I don't have time to wait," she answered testily. "I have packing to do and planning to do if I want to convince mom to let me take Tabitha up here in a week for the thanksgiving parade."

"I don't want you to go off thinking the worst of me."

"Than you shouldn't have said such stupid things," Storm answered heatedly as she started to walk down the hall. She sniffled. She never fought with Matty. Never. They were each other's best friends and they just didn't fight. He had always been the only person in her life who at any given moment in time she knew only had her best interests at heart. She would have thought, up until now, that he felt the same way. To have him accuse her of doing such a cruel thing didn't hurt. To a lot of people she wouldn't have thought twice. But to have him accuse her of doing such a thing to him really stung.

Matty swore under his breath. After the loss of two of his best friends the last thing he wanted to do was alienate his sister. He knew she was in an emotional place because of everything. It was like she took the death of Chris worse than he had. She was also still adrift about what she would do about her father. He couldn't let her go off again without patching things up with her. He just couldn't. "I was shocked is all Storm. I can't think of all the things I went through because I had no mother and then find out I really did have one all along without getting upset. I'm sorry I took it out on you," Matty said. He sighed violently, looking and his feet and fisting his hands in his hair. "But shit Storm, there's no easy way to find something like this out!"

"Look who you're telling!" Storm answered in a roar as she spun on her brother again, her finger in his face menacingly. "Unlike you, I _never_ had a mother. Pop was all I _ever_ had. He was all I ever knew I wanted and then look at what he did to me. In the middle of all that, of knowing what we both went through as kids because of what pop is I found out that we could have gone to live with our mother. The mother I supposedly killed being born twenty years ago. Then I had to keep her from you because of all I knew you'd been through on account of her being dead. So I had to deal with finding out about her on my own, had to be the one who had to go and see if she'd reject us or not on my own. All to save you the heartache if she told me to fuck off. How would you ever think I'd use that as a joke against you?"

"I told you I was in shock. I told you I was sorry. What more do you want me to say?"

"I dunno. But I do know I have a plane to charter." Storm turned again to walk away. She couldn't wait to get in a room by herself so she could lick her wounds in private.

"Storm, please," Matty's voice cracked in emotion. "Don't walk off on me like this!"

Why was it the men in her life were always begging her not to walk off after they'd said something stupid? It wasn't as though she was abandoning them. And if she was it wasn't like she was doing it without cause. It wasn't as though she was just being mean.

Well maybe just a little, she conceded to herself. There might have been a piece of her wanting to rub it in to her brother how hurt she was by walking off on him without hearing him out.

"I'm not walking off on you. I'm walking off to do what I need to do. The shit I need to get done ain't gonna do itself."

"You're walking off so fast so we don't have to finish our conversation."

"Oh, is that was that was? Sorry, I guess I didn't pick up on that part. I didn't know we were having a conversation. It felt more like an argument to me. One where I was telling you something true and serious and you were busy calling me a liar."

Matty shook his head. "What did you want me to do? Accept without question that a fact I've lived with for over twenty years isn't a fact at all. Accept that my father lied to me about something so important practically my whole life."

"I want you to think enough of me that your first assumption isn't that I'm playing a cruel joke on you. That's too much to ask, or so it seems and because it is I don't have any more time for this 'conversation' as you put it. I have things to do."

Matty gave up as he watched his sister turn around and walk away. He wasn't going to get through to her when she was so mad. She never was all that good at looking past her anger and looking at other side of the coin. When she felt backed into a corner or slighted it was all about her and her feelings. He knew it, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He knew he'd hurt her feelings but had she really expected him to simply be happy for the revelation and not get upset, not get shocked?

He might be the calm one, the sensible one. But even he wasn't that calm or sensible. He had been four years old when his mother had died. Or at least when he had been told she had died, if you believed Storm's story. All he remembered about her was a pair of laughing green eyes and a head of sable curly hair, all framing a ready smile and a lilting singing voice.

So, say Storm wasn't deluded, or playing a trick harsh even for her. What then? Was he jus supposed to forgive the mother who had left him behind? Left him to become Matty Dimes, picked on by the whole family and broken by her brother. A man she had to have known was a sadistic bastard. She had grown up with him, had seen just how he was first hand. But she still went off to another state and agreed to play dead, even from her own offspring.

Was he supposed to forgive her as easy as Storm seemingly had? Storm didn't live through the same hell he had, all over going to live with Teddy when his father went in. God damn it, the woman had abandoned her son and newborn daughter to be raised by Benny 'Chains'. A man she knew she couldn't stand to live around one day longer, but she had left her two innocent children to be raised by him, knowing there would be no where for them to go, and knowing what kind of upbringing they would receive.

How was it possible that Storm, of all people, didn't have a huge grudge to settle with the woman? Because of what her idolized father had done to her? How much of the way she had forgiven Cara Deserve could be tied back to her disillusionment with her father? A lot of it, Matty theorized. His sister had felt hopeless, like she had no where to turn to. She had found out her mother was still alive, and in a different state to boot, and had run there to take a chance at finding refuge. Because she was so upset and disenchanted with her father, a chance to have a different life in a different state had put her into a receptive frame of mind and made it easier than it should have been for her to forgive her mother for her sins.

He wasn't so sure he could forgive and forget so easily. But he did wonder if he didn't owe it to himself to meet the woman, hear her side of the story.

٭

Storm packed haphazardly when she reached her room. Half way through she picked up the phone and dialled in a number.

"Dostal," you're bothering me, the Russian voice on the other end of the line said, the curt greeting showcased the speaker's annoyance at being disturbed.

"Is that any way to talk to your favourite Italian female?" Storm asked playfully, fighting to remember that her friends were not to know how bad things had been at home lately, beyond the fact that Chris and Johnny had died.

"Storm! Did not think to check call ID."

"Don't worry about it. What are you doin' for the next few hours Yerrie?"

"Books for father. Why you ask?"

"I need a plane ride again. You up for a little fight down south?"

"Is back to Miami you wish to go?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"I can answer only in Russian and you forget how to speak," he teased.

She switched to his native tongue to spite him. "Za bazar otvetish'," You will be held accountable for what you've said, she threatened. It was in jest of course.

He roared in laughter. "When I never am seeing you anymore, how am I to know you find a way to keep up with language?"

"Because knowing how to speak with my comrades is important to me, da."

"Is good. Should pick you up at home?"

Storm really didn't want him around her house. But on the other hand it would save her from finding a way to the airstrip or to his club. "Yeah, why don't you, if you don't mind?"

"Don't mind. Will see you in half hour."

"I'll be ready." They hung up at the same time. Storm put some extra speed into her packing. She wanted to be done and waiting at the gate for her friend. She did not want him coming up to the house and risk having him clash with her father. It wasn't worth the headache by any stretch.

Twenty five minutes after she had hung up with Yerik, she was leaning against one of the brick pillars flanking her driveway gate, watching him pull up in a black Mercedes sedan. She tossed her bag into the back seat before sliding into the front. She leaned over to kiss Yerik on the cheek. "Thank you for coming for me."

"I was ready for something other than math to do," he responded with a shrug. "Love to fly and get far too few excuses to take plane up. Is pleasure to enjoy flight with such good company, and for once not need to listen to father complain."

"I've never heard Vanya complain about much."

"He complains about much, when things do not happen fast enough to suit his schedule."

"I'm the same way."

"This I know," he chuckled.

"Shut up!" Storm laughed back.

The powerful black car made short work of the trip from her home to the airstrip. They loaded her things into the plain and waited to be cleared for takeoff. Once they had their clearance they were airborne. They didn't say much over the course of the flight, just enjoyed companionable silence together. As aware as they both were of the fact, neither wanted to draw attention to the fact that Storm was running away from New York, and that neither knew how long it would be before she returned to her home state.

They landed without a hitch and taxied to a stop near the squat, grey terminal. Storm started to get out, but wasn't quick enough to hit the ground before Yerik was there to hand her to the tarmac. "Thanks," she said after her feet were again on the ground. Yerik only smiled. He knew how much it bothered her to have a man dance attendance on her. She was too independent to be happy about it. She looked less than impressed as he lifted her suitcase out of the rear of the plane for her and set it on the ground beside her.

"How are you to get where going with no car?"

"I'll call a taxi. My car is at my mom's so I'll be fine when I get there."

"I will get you ride. Wait here." He started off toward the terminal.

"Yerik! I can-" she cut herself off on a sigh and threw her hands in the air. He wasn't listening. She could have arranged her own ride! Trying to tell him that would get her no where. She knew she might as well just sit back and let him arrange things for her now that he had taken it in his head to do so.

He came striding back a few moments later. "I have hired driver and car to take you where you need to go."

"Thanks, I think." Storm looked up at Yerik, where he stood in front of her.

He shrugged off her thanks. "How long will be before you are home again?"

"I dunno Yerrie. Could be two weeks, could be two months. Could be longer. I just don't know. Things aren't so great at home right now," she admitted. She felt the need to tell someone.

"What is wrong at home Storm?"

"I fought with Matty, which is something that never happens. Things haven't been right between dad and me for a long time. I put it aside for the last few weeks because of things with my cousin and friend, but I'm still not ok with the old man, not even close. So I'm here to stay with my mother and I don't know how long I'm gonna have to stay with her to make the shit at home stop mattering."

"Is anything I can do?"

"Nope, not a thing. I'd appreciate it if you didn't say nothin' to Vanya that'll make him flip out either. I'm workin' the shit out, but I wanna do it my own way. Ok?"

"Of course Storm. Will see you when see you."

"Ok Yerrie, thanks for the lift. Both up there," she pointed to the sky, "and down here."

"Da." He picked up her bag and started toward a large black Cadillac limo which was parked beside the small terminal building.

It hadn't been there when they landed so Storm could only surmise that Yerik had called someone and arranged for it to arrive. Like she needed a limo! She followed him across the tarmac to the waiting car with a shake of her head. _Won't even let me carry my own bag. _She got into the car and told the driver where she was headed and they pulled out of the parking lot.

She was almost nervous to be back in Miami. She hadn't really gotten to know her new family all that well before she had taken off on them again. Now here she was back again. Would things have changed? What if her mother came to her senses in the mean time and realized that she didn't need a person like her daughter in her life, messing up the order?

Yet again it was going to fall to her to deliver bad news. Now she was going to have to break the news to her mother that her brother was dead. Not that the world wasn't better off without the presence of Teddy Deserve, but the man had still been Cara's brother. Storm shook her head tiredly with a sigh. Would the drama never end? Her life story read like a dime store trash novel. She actually figured she could sell the shit if she wrote it down. Of course, people would never accept it as a non-fiction. But as an action adventure, she guessed people would buy it.

The ride through Miami to her mother's house in Coral Gables went swiftly and comfortably. As comfortable as the limo was, Storm hated to be driven around and longed for the feeling of the wheel in her own hands and pedals under her own feet. She was looking forward to having custody of her Skyline back almost as much as seeing her mother and sister again. Driving stick was a totally different driving experience than automatics and she had been missing it. Had been missing the control that a manual offered over and above that of gas, brake and steering. She was looking forward to hitting races again. Tej was pretty cool, and his idea of racing was a lot more challenging than that of sprints in New York.

When the car stopped at the curb in front of her mother's house she got out and grabbed her own bag all before the driver could make it around the back of the car. He looked put out at not getting to do his job. "Sorry buddy, I'm really not used to getting waited on." She handed him a fifty for his trouble and started up the walkway. When she got to the step she paused. Did she just walk in? Or did she knock?

She eventually decided on knocking. She didn't have a key for the place so she figured that meant she shouldn't just walk right in. It didn't take long before Tabitha was hauling the door open. "Aren't you supposed to make sure you know who it is before you open the door?" she teased her little sister.

"Yeah," Tabitha admitted. "But does mom really have to know I didn't?"

"Not if you remember for next time. You gotta be more careful than just tossing the door open to everyone who knocks."

"I'll remember. Are you going to come in or just stand there?"

"You're still in the way kiddo."

Tabitha moved and Storm stepped up into the house with a chuckle, assuming that if her sister hadn't been told to bar her entry she was still welcome.

"Who is it Tabitha?" Cara's voice called from the back of the house, where her office was located.

"It's Storm!" Tabitha hollered back. "She's back."

Cara came out of her office and started toward the entrance. "I was worried when I didn't hear from you for so long!"

"I'm sorry. I had a lot to deal with before I could come back."

Cara looked at her daughter and she could read the lines of strain around her mouth and eyes. Her face had a haunted look that hadn't been present before. Whatever had gone down had been much more disturbing to Storm than the scene with her father which had originally driven her to Miami. It was obvious that this newest tribulation had upset her far more than her fight with her father had. "It's too bad that you came back tonight. Tabitha is going to stay with her friend Stacey tonight so we won't be able to do anything together."

"Maybe Stacey could come here instead. Could she?"

"I don't think so Tabitha. Mrs. O'Connor has already made plans based around having the two of you there. You'll have to have Stacey over another time."

"But we didn't know Storm was coming back when I decided to go to Stacey's tonight," Tabitha whined.

"I'm not goin' anywhere Tab. Go hang with your friend tonight. We'll make plans for the rest of the weekend when you come home and there's gonna be lots of time to have your friend over here."

"You're going to stay for a while this time?"

"Yeah," Storm sighed. "I'm gonna stay for a while this time." Because it was easier than dealing with her life in the big apple and she was taking the easy way out this time.

"Sweet." Tabitha ran off to pack her bag for the night.

Storm sat down on an armchair and pulled her legs under her, her feet resting on her opposite thighs. She tipped her head back with a heartfelt sigh. It was good to sit down and take a load off in a house where no one was waiting to fight with her, or change her, or control her, or dictate to her.

"I don't want to pry, but will you explain to me what happened tonight, after Tabitha isn't around?"

Her mother's question reminded Storm that the fun wasn't done for her yet. She still had to tell her mom about Teddy. She nodded tiredly in answer to her mother's question. "Yeah, we have some stuff to talk about and it would be easier to do it without her here."

"Ok. I'll run her over to Stacey's as soon as she's done packing and then we'll have a talk. I'll pick up some supper on the way home if you're hungry."

"I could eat." The question reminded Storm how long it had been since she'd had a real meal. It hadn't been any time in recent memory.

"Ok, I won't be long."

"I'll be here."

Cara left the house and Storm picked up the remote for the TV and flicked it on. She scrolled through the channels idly, unable to find anything she wanted to watch. She eventually settled on a station showing reruns of American Hotrod. Sometimes Boyd reminded her of her dad. Not in any tangible way, just little things. Both of them tended to have a hard time seeing the necessity of the journey, always longing to reach the finish line without taking time to do the race well. Both of them also tended to use their 'I'm the boss that's why' attitude to get out of scrapes with those under them rather than look for solutions which would work for everyone.

She felt a moment of guilt for leaving the state without telling her dad where she was headed. Surely Matty would tell him she was fine and where she was so he didn't have to worry, but it would seem like she had left without telling him on purpose because she didn't want him to know. While she wasn't happy with him still, her anger had simmered down to a slow boil rather than the white hot bubbling mess it had been. She wouldn't have given him a reason to worry had she thought about anything other than how fighting with Matty had made her feel. Matty, she was sure, would just attribute it to her selfish nature which became more pronounced when she was upset, not less.

On that note she realized she hadn't even told Taylor she was taking off. She had simply run away from her feelings about fighting with her brother and taken off out of the blue. She pulled her cell phone off her waist and dialled Taylor's number, not without a large dose of trepidation. Taylor was not going to take it well that she had run out of his place without waking him this morning and then had taken off for Miami without so much as saying good-bye in person or letting him know she was leaving while she was still in the same state.

He answered on the third ring. "Hello."

"Hey Tay, it's me."

"Storm! Where the fuck are you?"

"Miami. I fought with Matty and all I could think about was getting away, getting back here. I'm sorry. I would have told you I was leaving if I hadn't been so upset about things."

"What did you fight with Matty about?"

"I told him about mom and he didn't believe me. Accused me of making it up as a cruel joke." She started to cry despite herself. "Am I really such a horrible person that I'd do something that mean to my own brother? To Matty? Am I that evil Tay?"

It almost killed him to know she was crying in a place so far away that there was nothing he could do to comfort her. He made a mental note to adjust Matty's attitude at the next convenient opportunity. "No 'Ella, you're not. It's just a big thing to spring on Matty. I know there wasn't any other way to handle it baby, but it still had to be a shock to him. I'll go talk to him, ok?"

"And say what? It was what it was Taylor. I don't think you talking to him about it now it going to do anything. Not when I'm already here. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't take off without telling you on purpose."

"I understand. I was worried about you walking to your car alone though 'Ella. What were you thinking, taking off outta here in that outfit in the middle of the day to walk anywhere?"

"I didn't walk, I took the bus. And I didn't wear just that outfit. This is where I should tell you that I have your Yankees sweat shirt too. It was practically a dress on me so it hid enough."

Taylor groaned. "You have my Yankees tee shirt and sweat shirt? My two favourite tops for when I'm just hanging out at home? Storm," he whined.

It made her laugh softly. "Well, look at it this way. When you get them back you'll always be able to think of me wearing them, and nothing but. But you could have the tee shirt back. It's just on the floor of my room. Matty could get it for you and give it to you the next time you see him."

"I'll ask him."

"Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll keep an eye on Matty won't you? I don't know when I'll be back and I don't want to think of him all alone with no one around. You'll call him and make sure he's ok right?"

"Yeah, he's still my friend Storm. Just because he hurt you so bad he made you run off without telling me doesn't mean he isn't my friend anymore."

"Ok. I should let you go before mom gets home with dinner. I'll call you again soon and you can call me on this number any time you want to, ok?"

"Ok. I wish I knew when I was going to see you again Storm?"

"If I end up back in town you'll be the first one to know."

"Ok," Taylor paused, seeming unsure of what to say to end the call. "Take care of yourself 'Ella."

"You too Tay. I'll talk to you soon."

"Ok."

With their good-byes they each hung up. Storm was sitting in the same position when her mother got back home with a bag of take away in her hands. She came into the living room after kicking her shoes off. "I got supper," she said as she looked at Storm. Storm didn't immediately answer. "You ok?"

Storm came back to reality with a crash landing. "Not really, but we should eat before I go into it. I'm starving."

Telling Storm to stay put, Cara went to the kitchen, put the Chinese food she had brought back with her on plates, put the plates on trays with cutlery and glasses of soda, and presented one of them to her daughter. "I hope you like Chinese."

"I live in New York. Of course I like Chinese," Storm answered with a smile. It didn't last long, but she made the effort.

Cara had to fight to remind herself they weren't going into what was wrong until after they ate. She had a million questions she wanted answers for. If it wasn't for the fact her daughter was so obviously upset she would be asking them rapid fire. She was itching to find out what had caused Storm to leave, promising to call, and then to merely show up two weeks later, baggage in hand.

She was sure that Storm could likely sense her impatience because she ate swiftly, didn't linger over her food. When she finished she set her plate on the coffee table.

Storm couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her when she saw her mother staring at her intently. In her haste to eat the first meal she'd seen in days she hadn't even noticed. "I guess you really wanna know why I took off in the middle of the night and never called, huh?"

"If you want to tell me," Cara answered as she tried to feign indifference.

"It's not a good story," Storm cautioned, thinking of how she was going to have to tell her mother about Uncle Teddy and about Chris. She knew her mother wouldn't know Chris all that well because he would have been about four years old when she went away. But she had no doubt that as close as Benny and Sal were, Cara had also likely been close to the Scarpa's as well.

"When Matty called me, it was to tell me that he had tried to take on a job for Pop. An out of state job and he fuc-," Storm caught herself about to curse at her mother, even in a roundabout way and pulled up short. "Well, he dropped the ball big time. Got Johnny Marbles to help him with a big money run. We're always tellin' Matty 'stay out' and not without good reason but he decided there wasn't anything else for him in the world to do and broke in anyway." Storm continued to tell her mother the story of what had happened to Johnny, Chris, and how it had affected Taylor and Matty. She left out a few of the choicer parts, like how many times she had gotten loaded drunk in the course of that time, and how often she had spent the night with Taylor afterward either. "So then I had to wait until all that calmed down to tell Matty about you. And his response was to accuse me of making it up as a mean joke. That was on top of the thing with Taylor's mother, Chris's funeral. I flipped the hell out on him, called a friend who has a Cessna and was here about two hours later."

"So Chris Scarpa is dead?" Cara had to get clarification. She had waited until the end of the story, not wanting to interrupt. But she had to hear it spelled out in order to believe it.

"Yeah, he's dead."

"And Matty doesn't believe that I'm still alive?"

"Well, he likely does now, given that I told him off and stormed out of the house on him, and didn't even tell Taylor where I was going. He's gonna know I was royal pissed and not just kiddin around with him."

"You should go back to New York and settle some of these issues Storm."

"No I shouldn't. I can't." Storm shook her head agitatedly. "I just can't. I need time. I gotta get it all sorted out in my head first. I'm about ready to lose it and if I go back now I won't be able to hold it together. It was driving me crazy slowly over these last few weeks. I need a break away from Dad and all his shit, from Matty and his depression, even from Taylor and his thumb. I need a break to just be me for awhile."

"But you shouldn't leave things with your brother or Taylor like they are. Shouldn't leave things hanging on a fight."

"I didn't leave things that way with Taylor. I called him while you were out and let him know the score. He's gonna be ok. I mean, he's Taylor. He's pretty good at doin' on his own. Matty'll let me know when he's good and sorry for what he said, for what he accused. I'll go wit him from there."

"What about Benny? Didn't you tell me that you didn't tell him where you were going or when you'd be back too?"

"Yeah," Storm sighed. "I guess I should call the old man and tell him I'm ok, where ever I am."

"At least. Then unpack and we'll watch a movie to unwind, ok?"

Storm nodded yes and got up, taking her cell phone out again. She'd call her father and tell him she was gone for a vacation. He didn't need to know just where, even if he would likely as not guess on his own anyway. She told him merely that she had fought with Matty and decided she was wound too tight and needed a break. He seemed to accept her explanation and let her go after she had made a commitment to call him and let him know she was still ok in a few days.

That accomplished, she headed upstairs with her bag, unpacked, changed and headed back down the stairs. She curled up in the same overstuffed chair she had sat in for dinner and accepted the bowl of popcorn her mother offered her with a smile. When she went to bed after the movie she fell into an exhausted sleep immediately and slept well for the first time in days. She woke up at ten am, early for her, and headed downstairs after showering and getting dressed. What did one do on Saturday in Miami?

While she was still pondering that over her Lucky Charms, Tabitha and her blonde friend bounced into the house.

"Yay, you're awake!" Tabitha cried happily. "Do you remember Stacey from my school?"

"Yeah, Tab, it's only been two weeks since I was here."

"I know that," Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Stacey's going to spend the day here with me today."

"Cool. What are you gonna do?" Storm asked, idly curious.

"Dunno. We didn't figure that out yet. Maybe you could take us to the beach?" Tabitha asked hopefully.

"That would be so cool!" Stacey finally opened her mouth.

"That would depend on Mom and what Stacey's mom thought of it. She doesn't know me."

"It's fine with me dear, but I better call Mrs. O'Connor and make sure it's ok with her before we say yes or no, ok?"

"Yeah, sure," Storm called back. She finished her cereal and slurped up the left over milk before loading her bowl in the dishwasher. The girls sat down at the table to wait on the verdict of Cara's call to Stacey's mother. Storm sat back down with them when she was done tidying up after herself.

Stacey looked from her friend to Storm a few times. It was clear to Storm she had something to say. She watched the twelve year old try to make up her mind about what to say and if to say it with bemusement. "You look just like each other," she finally got out.

"Yeah, kinda weird isn't it?" Storm offered.

"Kinda. Why is your hair so blonde?"

"Because I dyed it like this. It ain't real."

"Oh. Why do you talk like that?"

"Because I grew up hangin' out in Brooklyn and that's how we talk in New York."

Stacey went to ask more, but Cara came out of her office before she could. "Stacey's mom says it's fine if you all remember to wear sun block. And don't spend any more than three hours on the beach. That ok?"

"Sure, that's chill," Storm answered. She looked at her sister and Stacey. "Why don't you girls go get ready? I'll be up to change myself in a few and then we'll go, a'ight?"

"Sure," Tabitha answered and both girls headed up to her room.

Cara turned to Storm after they were gone. "You sure you're up to marshalling the two of them? They can be a handful when they get together."

"It'll be ok. I think I can take a couple'a kids and if I can't all I have to do is threaten to call you, right?"

Cara laughed. "Yep, that should do it. I'll give you some money in case they want treats at the boardwalk." She moved toward her purse.

"Mom, I ain't poor. I can afford a couple ice creams and video games."

"I know, but you shouldn't have to pay their way."

"It's ok. Really. Unless there's more to it than you worryin' about me affordin' food and gas if I treat the girls to an afternoon out?"

Cara looked like she was caught at something she shouldn't be doing, but didn't answer that way. "Of course not."

"You sure?" Storm asked as one eyebrow rose toward her hairline. It was obvious she knew there was more to it than that.

Cara sighed. She was busted. Seemed her daughter had picked up her father's uncanny ability to read people and situations. It was hard to get one past her. "I'd rather not know you were spending Benny's money on the girls. I know it's silly, but I don't want to owe him anything. Not even in roundabout ways."

"I don't spend very much of his money anymore myself. I got a job mom, and it ain't for my pop. He won't have me so I got work for myself elsewhere. I got my own money to spend."

"What do you do? I mean, really. Not whatever you do for your father?"

"I work in a bar that a friend of mine owns. I mighta learned to tend bar for Benny in Giando's but I work for my buddy Vanya now." Storm surprised herself with how well she lied. She praised herself on not coming right out and lying. She made it sound like she was saying she tended bar for Vanya by saying it was what she had done for Benny. And with only the name Vanya to go by, Cara wouldn't be able to track down what kind of club the Russian man owned or what other kinds of enterprises he was into.

"Doesn't sound like something your father would be happy about you doing?" Cara prodded for more info gently.

"I'm sure he wouldn't be. That's why his ass don't know," Storm answered with a smirk. "He thinks I go hang out wit my friends a lot."

"Ok, well in that case I won't try to force any money on you again then, seeing as you can take care of yourself."

Storm sensed her mother might be just a bit upset that she had missed out on all the years when Storm would have needed her, and would have depended on her for everything. "I wouldn't go that far, but money wise I landed on my feet."

"Ok, you should go get ready. If you leave Tabitha and Stacey waiting too long I'll have to listen to them, and I don't want a headache right now."

Both women chuckled over that before Storm headed up to what she now thought of as her room and changed into her bathing suit before pulling on a pair of cut off denims and a tank top. She ended up wishing the only bathing suit she packed wasn't a Juicy Couture two piece which didn't leave a lot to the imagination. She was quite comfortable in a two piece, under normal conditions, but wasn't sure how appropriate it was for her to wear such a brief suit in front of her little sister and little friend. Other than admit she had to go shopping before they could hit the beach, she didn't see any way around wearing it. She shook her head. A white suit with 'JUICY' across the behind in hot pink was her only option. She shrugged sanguinely. She was pretty old to start worrying about proper now.

Within five minutes of leaving her room, she was loading the girls and their beach things into the Skyline. While Cara had offered the use of her Land Rover, the Skyline was the only car either the girls or Storm would hear of driving. Storm had missed it too much and Tabitha and Stacey were not going to miss their chance to be driven around in the tricked out ride.

Storm allowed herself to be talked into cranking up the stereo and driving too fast to the beach. Tabitha navigated, clearly knowing the way even though Storm herself did not. They spent the full three authorized hours laying in the sun and swimming before they packed up their stuff and spent a bit longer shopping along the waterfront boardwalk. They ended up with ice cream cones right away. After they ate them they headed around the shops, where Storm ended up buying each girl a pair of Oakley knock off sunglasses just like the red, deeply smoked pair in her own curls. Then they realized it was supper. After a quick call home to confirm it would be ok, Storm took the girls out for pizza at a beach side restaurant.

By the time they got home it was seven o'clock. There was a strange car in the driveway. It turned out to be Stacey's mother's vehicle. Storm parked the Skyline behind the Land Rover so that Mrs. O'Connor's vehicle would be free to leave and let the girls out of the car. They headed up to the house in a trio, still talking a mile a minute about the day they'd had and the girl's plans to make the junior high school cheer squad when they moved out of elementary school the following year.

Storm unlocked the door with the key her mother had thoughtfully provided her with that morning and pushed it open. As they piled into the foyer Storm called out, "Mom, we're home!" The girls kept talking amongst themselves rapid fire. Storm didn't know how they talked like that and didn't asphyxiate.

Cara came out of the living room, followed by a woman Storm could only guess was Mrs. O'Connor. She had Stacey's blonde hair and blue eyes. "How was the beach?"

"It was pretty awesome. I think I mighta even got a tan. Something a native New Yorker is not use to admitting in November!" Storm admitted with a chuckle.

Mrs. O'Connor finally seemed to find her words. "Well, I guess Cara wasn't exaggerating the family resemblance was she?"

"No ma'am," Storm replied. She held out her hand. "I'm Storm De-," she cut herself off. Was she allowed to admit her last name to her mother's friends? Her dad wasn't exactly unknown. Not since he had done time for RICO charges and played a large role in A and E's special on organized crime. Storm caught her mother's eyes in panic. Her mother gave her a small nod. "I'm Stormianna Demaret, but you can just call me Storm."

"Storm?" Stacey's mother turned to Cara in confusion after shaking Storm's hand. "I thought your older daughter's name was Arabella?"

"It is," Storm broke it. "Arabella Stormianna Demaret, but I go by Storm."

"You named your child Storm?" Mrs. O'Connor asked Cara with a giggle. It was a giggle that reminded Storm of Stacey a great deal. It was clear to see the blonde child took after her mother a great deal.

"I did, but I never for the life of me figured her father would allow her name to stand that way. I guess I was wrong." Cara turned to Storm. "Ellen is a very good friend. She knows a lot about my past."

Storm nodded. Her mother was telling her that Ellen O'Connor was a close friend who had been trusted with the knowledge of how she had come to be in Miami and the fact that she had two older children she had been forcefully separated from. It was good to know she wouldn't have to put up a front around Ellen O'Connor, as it was obvious Tabitha and Stacey were close to inseparable But it was difficult to know how much Ellen knew about Storm's own background.

"Good to meet you Mrs. O'Connor."

"Please, call me Ellen. It's good to meet you too. But on that note, we should go Stacey. It's getting late."

"Can't I stay here a bit longer?" Stacey asked, batting her eyelashes with a pleading look on her face.

"Not tonight sweetheart. Say good night to your friends and let's go."

"Night Tabitha. Night Storm, thanks for taking us to the beach."

"No sweat kid. We'll see you around."

The O'Connor's left and Cara left Storm to put Tabitha to bed. No sooner had Storm shut her sister's door than there was a knock on the front door. Cara answered it, pulling the door open just as Storm was coming back down the stairs. She could sense the confusion coming from her mother. If she was an animal her fur would be up. The emotion coming off her mother didn't sit well with her. "Who is it Mom?"

Cara moved out of the way of the open door, allowing Storm to see the face of the person filling the doorway. "Matty? What the heck are you doin' here?" Storm asked, even as she watched her brother open his arms to her and she threw herself into them. Knowing all was not well with her and Matty had been a huge weight on her shoulders. She felt him kiss the crown of her head even as his well toned arms crushed her against his chest.

"I'm so sorry for what I said to you Stormi girl. Please don't ever run off on me again."

"I think you know me too well to expect me to promise that!" Storm said with a laugh as she leaned back in her brother's arms, looking up into his drawn face before kissing his cheek and breaking out his hold, though she did allow him to keep an arm around her shoulders. "I guess it's time you met," Storm paused. Introducing your brother to his mother was awkward. "Well, mom."

Cara was fighting tears and not coming out on top of the battle. Matty looked at his mother enigmatically.

He wasn't sure how to feel about her. She was clearly distraught, and she and Storm clearly had a very good relationship, considering the short time they'd truly known each other. "Um, hey."

"You guys go sit down in the living room and I'll make some refreshments!" Storm offered in an overly cheerful tone and she gave her brother a push toward the aforementioned room of the house. He went, almost reluctantly and it wasn't too long before Storm knew why as she watched Taylor Reese come up the walk carting his own small bag and Matty's larger suitcase.

She wasn't sure if she was glad that Matty hadn't traveled alone, or upset about the fact that now Taylor was in Miami to try and run her life some more. But at the forefront of all her emotion was gladness to see him. But it was going to complicate matters a great deal. She leaned in the living room. "I guess I'll actually leave you two to get acquainted and show Taylor around the place."

She took the two bags from a startled Taylor and set them in the hall before shoving him out onto the porch and closing the door. As soon as the door was closed Taylor had her in an embrace fit to rival the strength of Matty's crushing hug and they were kissing like they'd been separated for months, not hours. Neither was sure who had jumped on who, and it really didn't matter. Storm lead Taylor toward the Skyline when he let her come up for air. "I'll show you around while we let them work their shit out, ok?"

"Yeah," Taylor answered with a growl.

Back in the house Matty looked at his mother and she looked back in trepidation. She knew somehow instinctively that her son was not going to welcome her presence in his life with open arms like her daughter had. "So, I guess you have some questions?"

"You could say that," Matty started.


End file.
